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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23851858">A Pirates Life For Me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boozombie/pseuds/Boozombie'>Boozombie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Forced Cohabitation, Forced Kissing, Forced Relationship, Happy Ending, I was bored so here’s a pirate thing, Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, M/M, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Bill Cipher, Soft Bill Cipher, eventual love, i will make historical inaccuracy, possessive, tad is in love, title may change, witches kinda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:09:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>78,714</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23851858</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boozombie/pseuds/Boozombie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started when Mabel asked Dipper to go to the Northwest gala for her; as her. Neither twin knew of Gideon’s plot to kidnap Mabel that night, neither knew this night would be the start of the rest of their lives but if you ask Dipper the winding chain of life changing events all started because of that damn corset!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bill Cipher &amp; Gideon Gleeful, Bill Cipher &amp; Tad Strange, Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines, Mabel Pines/Tad Strange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>183</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>420</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Cross dressing at the gala</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dipper frowned at the mirror, letting his bangs drop as he let out a sigh. His fluffy curls immediately covering the mark on his forehead that screamed freak, some even said it was a sign he was marked for an unlucky fate, others thought it meant that he had a better sense of judgement, more thought it meant he was chosen, for what the speculations came in a wide range. But that was all just sailors superstition. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper had heard it all the few weeks of the journey from England to his uncles’ estate in the new world. A small port town just a four hour sail from Port Royal. It was a small town but as the Pines were an old and wealthy family the estate in the small town of Gravity Falls was large and regarded with wonder, meaning the Pines family were regarded with the same wonder. Some of them seemed in awe of seeing two sets of twins at the same time when they had gotten off the ship. </p><p> </p><p>The port town seemed alright, far better smelling than London at the very least. The people were friendly enough, Mabel seemed to have perked up with the opportunity to meet new people, maybe people her own age as well. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper could only see this place as a stepping stone though. After their parents' untimely death, Dipper would only be here as long as it took for him to come of age and then be shipped right on back to England to take over his fathers place in the House of Lords, until then a family proxy would handle that and his fathers shipping company. </p><p> </p><p>Not that Dipper wanted any of that. Despite the horrendous time Dipper had being picked on by the crew of that passenger ship, he had actually found he loved pretending that he was on an adventure. Old fantasies Mabel and him had of running off to be pirates making a reappearance in his mind. </p><p> </p><p>On the ocean, on that ship, he had felt so free! No tutors chasing him down to drag him into boring lessons about useless politics, or bombard him with meaningless classes on how a gentleman must behave in every situation. Dipper was sure they watched him sleep to make sure he was doing that with the proper manners. He didn’t have to worry about anything besides what he’d chosen to do that day while on the boat. </p><p> </p><p>On the boat Dipper got to explore passions that he hadn’t ever had time to explore before; reading mostly. He loved history, fantasy, poetry, mostly mystery, and science. Mabel didn’t understand it but Dipper could read a scientific paper or a fascinating unsolved event with the same excitement as she could sew a dress. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper and Mabel had been in Port Gravity Falls a full month and contrary to what Dipper expected his great uncles didn’t make him return to his studies but allowed him to further discover his own interests. </p><p> </p><p>His uncle Stan was a strange and self interested man. He loved his family, but he also loved himself. . . a lot. If self interest was the reason he wasn’t the representative for the House of Lords, he’d been kicked out almost thirty years ago for reasons Stan kept a secret. </p><p> </p><p>Now he ran the family business in the Caribbean now, the business so large that it required someone to be at the helm on either side of the world. </p><p> </p><p>His uncle Ford was a brilliant man, uninterested in the family business, Ford had dedicated his life to study. He had traveled the world over searching for the strange and unusual, probably because he had lived with an extra finger on both hands his whole life. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper was fascinated by his uncle's findings, he’d been pining for weeks to be his uncle's apprentice. Researching the strange and unusual with him but . . . he was the next heir of the family. His uncle couldn’t take him out into danger, or appear to be distracting him from the duties Dipper had on his shoulders. </p><p> </p><p>So Dipper mostly roamed the halls, stargazed, learned anything that caught his interest, and enjoying this one year he would have in this wonderful stepping stone of a town. Then it was back to duties and responsibilities. </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper!” The shrill call of his sister shattered the peace of the quiet manor. </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel, I’m not deaf,” Dipper grinned back as she came barreling at him full speed. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ve been invited to the Northwest Gala!” She hooked her hands around Dippers shoulders and shook him. What she said sounded good, from on the other side of the world they’d heard the tales of the Northwest’s legendary Gala’s and Mabel had always wanted to go. But she didn’t sound her normal brand of over exuberant excitement. </p><p> </p><p>“And you are upset because?” Dipper laughed. </p><p> </p><p>“Because I heard from Grenada, who heard from Candy, who heard from the dock workers, who eavesdropped on the stationed navy that Gideon was also invited!” Mabel groaned like it should all be obvious what was wrong. </p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” Dipper nodded. Gideon Gleeful had apparently fallen in love with his sister at first sight when they’d stepped off the boat. She had been trying to avoid the newly minted naval Captain since they arrived but he had managed to manipulate and guilt Mabel into a fair few courting dates. </p><p> </p><p>All of which Dipper had been forced to tag along on as Mabel’s brother and chaperone. </p><p> </p><p>“Why was he invited?” Dipper asked when she looked to be waiting for him to freak out with her. </p><p> </p><p>“Apparently he’s in relation to the Northwest’s and because he just got a command, so he’s a valued guest,” Mabel sighed unhappily. </p><p> </p><p>“Like us,” Dipper confirmed. He knew his sister cared about their reputation very much, if she didn’t go to the Gala they would never be invited again. And even though by the next one they wouldn’t even be here, just being invited was an honor. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, like us!” Mabel huffed. She turned dramatically to locate a fainting couch in the dimly lit hall to throw herself upon. </p><p> </p><p>“Why do I get a sense that Gideon being at the gala isn’t the only thing bothering you?” Dipper asked as he sat beside her figure on the couch she had chosen to fling herself. </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper! I’ve always wanted to go to this party. . .”</p><p> </p><p>“But?” Dipper asked knowingly. </p><p> </p><p>“I met this guy,” Mabel sat up with a grin. Dipper raised a brow with a chuckle. Mabel may care about reputation but she was one of the most rebellious girls he knew. It didn’t surprise him that she had managed to meet a guy while he was distracted. “And he’s so handsome Dip! And a true gentleman for a sailor, but he invited me to meet him at the docks tonight and go to a tavern!” Dipper was baffled that he’d missed her making such plans with some mystery sailor. She looked up at him pleadingly. “I can’t do both.”</p><p> </p><p>“So go to the party,” Dipper said, waving away the concern. Mabel couldn’t seriously court a sailor as much as he wished she could. Their handlers back in England would never allow it, he assumed that they’d consult him on a proper match for his sister when they returned. He’d try to steer them to a good man as much as he could, luckily their parents gave him final say in their will. </p><p> </p><p>“But!” Mabel groaned. “What is the point of having a twin if I can’t be in two places at once!?” She snapped. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper's eyes widened as he finally got what his sister wanted from him. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh no! No way Mabel!” Dipper hissed. “People would figure it out in a second! I am a man!” </p><p> </p><p>“A very femine man!” Mabel argued. “Dipper you have to admit we both take after mom!” She defended when he gave her a stink eye. “Please? It’s one night and with you pretending to be me, you could get Gideon to leave me alone! You know I’m never going to muster the courage to turn him and his chipmunk cheeks down! We used to switch all the time, and no one could tell us apart!” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, when we were eight!” Dipper yelled. “That was almost ten years ago Mabes!” </p><p> </p><p>“And we still look exactly the same! Come on you know you could pull it off,” Mabel shot him the puppy dog eyes that always made him bend. “Please? Go to the party, chat up the Northwest’s, let down Gideon, and I’ll . . .” Mabel bit her lip, trying to think of what she could possibly offer her brother in order to get him to crossdress for her. Then an idea struck her. “I will forge a letter to Uncle Ford from our handlers. Saying maybe, that it would be advantageous if you got some scientific study under your belt?” She looked at him coyly. </p><p> </p><p>She had him, and she knew it by the look of triumph on her face. Mabel Pines was the best forger on the planet, it was how she managed to get away with adopting a pig that had supposed to feed them, Dipper couldn’t turn that offer down. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper groaned. “Fine! But if I get caught I’m killing you first!” </p><p> </p><p>“Deal!” Mabel squealed happily, crushing Dipper to her chest in a hug. “Okay we have a lot to do! The dress and the makeup will take hours! And I’ll need to get someone to quitely obtain a wig!” Mabel hopped up and began to pace excitedly as she listed off everything that was needed. “I’ll need to find accessories that will compliment you and oh! A corset will disguise you better as a girl! What are you sitting there for?! Go clean yourself!”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper, regretting everything, got up with a heavy sigh and headed off to his room to wash up. </p><p> </p><p>_____________________________________________________</p><p> </p><p>“Bro, you have to stop moving,” Mabel chided her swirming brother. </p><p> </p><p>Half way through Dippers bath Mabel had busted in and taken over how Dipper cleaned himself. Apparently he didn’t do it right. She scrubbed his skin until it was raw, ground her knuckles into his hair until not a drop of grease remained. </p><p> </p><p>His hair had never felt softer, and annoyingly it was light enough at the moment that his birthmark was peeking out. He hated that birthmark more than anything. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel said that it made him special, that it marked his big smart brain as gifted. He liked that much better than any of the horrid superstitions he’d heard on the ship, and he liked it better than the other nobles' guesses of inbreeding. </p><p> </p><p>His skin had been rubbed down with perfumes and creams. His skin felt so soft! Now his sister was now trying to squeeze out his organs! </p><p> </p><p>“I can’t breath!” Dipper wheezed as she pulled the lacings tighter and tighter. </p><p> </p><p>“Good! Then you can’t talk and give yourself away!” Mabel joked, jerking the lacings even tighter and Dipper swore something almost cracked. </p><p> </p><p>“This is torture!” Dipper gasped. “When I have my pants back I’m having words with who dresses you! I will not have you being tormented like this!” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh I don’t normally wear this, it was a gift from Marius. I haven’t had a chance to wear it yet, and it’s from France Dipper! France!” Mabel tied off the lacings with a flourish and moved back to grab the top layer of the dress. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper suddenly didn’t understand why it was possible that wearing just the bottom layer of the dress was considered near naked. He’d never felt more weight from his clothes before, he’d never worn more fabric before! If this was under dressed then he was always naked. </p><p> </p><p>“Marius gave you an instrument of torture? Mabel I know you like him but he might be insane.” Marius was a Austrian baron that was being considered to take Mabel’s hand, Mabel seemed to like him and he liked Mabel’s more aggressive traits. He was kind, handsome, and quite smart so Dipper had no complaints. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel made a face. “I don’t like him that much.” She gathered the baby blue silk and white lace that made up the top layer of the dress and threw it over his head. </p><p> </p><p>“I thought he was your front runner for who you want the handlers to arrange you with?” Dipper asked curiously as she smoothed the dress down and began to tie the dress lacing over the corset that was trying to squeeze out his intestines. </p><p> </p><p>“He was. . .” Mabel sighed, pausing. “Dip, do you ever wish that we weren’t Mason and Mabel Pines, 9th marquess and marchioness of England?” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper turned, looking at his twin with a hollowed out hope. The dream that they both once had for a life without all the responsibilities had died long ago. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course Mabes,” Dipper stroked her cheek, tipping up her chin and giving her a smile. “But we are Mason and Mabel Pines, unfortunately there is no running from that. Soon we will have to return to England, I will enter the House of Lords and you will be married.”</p><p> </p><p>Mabel frowned, stiffening her shoulders and trying to turn away but Dipper held her still. </p><p> </p><p>“But not tonight,” Dipper continued. “Tonight you can just be Mabel, the simple port town girl that can laugh and dance with a simple sailor.” Mabel brightened immediately, her eyes tearing up from happiness. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you Dipper!” She hugged him, suffocating him more. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay off! I’ll die if you hug me over this torture device!” Dipper smiled happily. His sister was the most important person in his life, he’d do anything for her. “Just be careful with this mystery sailor, please?” </p><p> </p><p>“While you are off being marchioness Mabel Pines, I will be very careful as the small town girl okay?” Mabel assured him, beginning to fret over the dress again. “Now let’s get your wig on.”</p><p> </p><p>______________________________________________________</p><p> </p><p>After hours of Mabel showing him how to walk in heels, apparently he couldn’t wear flats because he was shorter than her and the heels would make it officially impossible to tell the difference, Dipper was ready. </p><p> </p><p>He looked to the mirror and couldn’t believe his eyes, Mabel stared back at him but he knew it was only a reflection of himself. They really didn’t look exactly the same! </p><p> </p><p>Mabel had covered his body in a fine white powder, brushing it into his skin to make his skin look unblemished and smooth, well, more so. Him and Mabel had very good genes. </p><p> </p><p>The wig was curled and then pinned up to set the hair beautifully upon his head, a few curls laying gently around his oval face to frame it. His eyes looked bigger lined with black and brushed with a fine blue powder. Lips a soft blush pink to match his colored cheeks. </p><p> </p><p>He looked so . . . delicate. The dress was frilled with white lace at the chest, hiding his flat chest. The sleeves hung off his shoulders and draped his arms making them look fragile. He definitely needed to work out more, he had womanly arms!</p><p> </p><p>His waist was forced to tamper in, combined with the full shirt it made his hips look full and womanly as well. The color of the dress made his pale skin glow, and the baby’s breath decorating his hair and wrists made him ethereal. His sister was truly beautiful, which he guessed might make him beautiful when dressed as a girl. </p><p> </p><p>“Wow, I do great work,” Mabel congratulated herself as she walked around him. “Oh and I got this for you,” Mabel pulled out her jewelry box. She lifted a pendant from it, presenting it to Dipper. “It was moms, I haven’t gotten the courage to wear it yet but I think it suits you better.”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper choked up, taking the necklace gently. It was a Tree in a circle, pure silver on a long matching chain with a sapphire sitting in the center. He remembered his mom wearing it often. It was far and away from their most expensive family jewel but it had been his mother’s favorite nevertheless. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you Mabel,” Dipper took the necklace, putting it around his neck immediately. It was a woman’s necklace, so he hadn’t been able to claim it, now it seemed he could. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Mabel adjusted the trinket so it hung center against his chest. “Now how do I look? Simple enough to be a common girl?” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper focused on his sister and looked over her. She was wearing the dress she had tailored for their trip over. It was made of sturdy materials, cream and brown mostly and she had tied up her long hair in a creamy rag cloth. Even like this she looked beautiful. </p><p> </p><p>“No,” he smiled at her while she pouted. “But only because you could never be simple. Now, unless you hussle our uncles will catch us and this embarrassment will be for not.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, you are right,” Mabel bit her lip, suddenly unsure about this plan. If he was discovered polite society would shun them forever. “Uncle Ford is escorting you and acting as your chaperone for the evening. If he notices anything just say it’s your womanly time and he won’t ask any further.” </p><p> </p><p>“Do you use that a lot to get out of trouble?” Dipper squawked, remembering a few times she had used that excuse on him. </p><p> </p><p>“Every woman does Dipper, so don't act surprised,” she waved him away. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so Ford will be my escort,” Dipper really hated that society felt that woman needed a man to watch her. Now he’d get to feel first hand how annoying it is rather than just watch it. “Now I believe it’s time you sneak out through the window.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah yes! My date, try and have fun!” Mabel grinned as she hurried to the window and readied her well used homemade escape ladder. Dipper waved her off, worried but happy for her. She needed to get this out of her system now before they went back. </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel?” Dipper turned, jumping a bit when he realized Uncle Ford had come in and was looking straight at him. </p><p> </p><p>“Y-yes?” Dipper squeaked, moving in front of the window to hide the real Mabel’s escape. </p><p> </p><p>“You look wonderful, ready for this Gala?” Ford complimented and asked. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Dipper naturally adjusted his voice to match Mabel’s. It was easy since they had been imitating each other for years, although his voice still cracked at times. He just hoped it wouldn’t happen soon. </p><p> </p><p>“Then let’s go,”</p><p> </p><p>_______________________________________________________</p><p> </p><p>Mabel paced the desolate dock, worrying her lip over what situation she’d put her brother in. Being a girl at a party was very different from being a man, clever men often found a way to grope her when Dipper wasn’t anchored at her side. He was going to be very surprised at this party, and probably very upset on her behalf. Hopefully he wouldn’t punch anyone, Dipper was always easy to bait into a fight. </p><p> </p><p>“Miss Mabel?” Her head snapped up at the call and Mabel smiled brightly at her gentleman caller of the night. </p><p> </p><p>“Mr Strange,” Mabel dipped into a curtsy, only to stop herself midway to realize she had done it in perfect form out of habit. Simple port town girls don’t curtsy like they are greeting the bloody queen! </p><p> </p><p>“Please, you don’t need to be so formal,” Tad Strange caught the girls hand when she seemed to unbalance herself somehow. </p><p> </p><p>Tad looked at the girl, feeling a curl of interest in his gut. She was an odd one, she had come barreling into his chest the day prior and had scrambled out a very proper apology with mud on her face, before scurrying off after a run away pig. What interested him was how she obviously came from high society but made an effort not to look or sound like it. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, was I being formal?” She tsked very softly to herself before seemingly readjusting herself in an obvious attempt to look more common. She was doing a terrible job at it, even if her dress today was more affordable it was still made out of fine materials that no commoner could afford. Plus he’d seen her dress before, a viberate pink was a fabric even some merchants couldn’t afford. </p><p> </p><p>Who was this girl?</p><p> </p><p>“Um, would you like to head to the tavern?” Mabel asked and Tad jumped, not realizing that he had gotten lost in thought watching her. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, let’s head off,” Tad was also raised with manners and offered his elbow to the girl. She took it with a poise that spoke volumes, like it was second nature to her. </p><p> </p><p>She refused to give her last name when he’d asked her out, so he assumed her name would definitely give away exactly who she was. </p><p> </p><p>She began to nervously rattle off conversation topics and he listened in content. Tad looked over the girl again, admiring how beautiful she was even in her plain attire. Chestnut hair, big honey brown eyes, perfect pink skin, and a small stature. She’d have to be beautiful to be able to unknowingly pull him from his captain's side before a raid. </p><p> </p><p>Tonight this town's streets would run red, and this girl had no idea. Tad was tempted to warn her but he knew he’d be severely punished if he did. </p><p> </p><p>“Tell me miss Mabel, why does it seem you are worried about something else?” Tad asked when he noticed her eyes kept drifting toward the opposite side of the town. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel sighed, looking a little forlorn. “I was supposed to be at a party this evening,” she admitted. </p><p> </p><p>“The Northwest party?” Tad asked, if she admitted that then she was from a much higher level of society than he’d been expecting. </p><p> </p><p>“Wh-what?! no!” Her voice got higher as she lied, stuttering and nervous suddenly. Well then, she is important enough to be invited to the Northwest’s Gala. And she chose to meet with him, what a compliment. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh so a different party then,” he allowed her lie. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, but I wanted to see you again,” she assured him like he hadn’t already surmised that little tidbit. “But in order to come I had to make a deal with my twin, they are . . . covering for me tonight.” </p><p> </p><p>Tad looked down at her, seeing a number of, not outright lies, but omissions of the truth within her words. </p><p> </p><p>“There is another as beautiful as you?” Tad asked instead of commenting on the million things she was hiding. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh you!” Mabel giggled, hitting his chest as she laughed. “Yes my twin did look absurdly lovely before I left. I hope Di-“ she paused, coughed and redirected herself quickly. “I hope Diana is doing alright without me, s-she’s not much for parties.”</p><p> </p><p>Tad narrowed his eyes. Now that had been a lie, she was about to say a very different name. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, and you're worried about whether she will blow your cover?” Tad asked. </p><p> </p><p>“Well yes, you aren’t exactly what my family has in mind. No offense,” she added at the end. </p><p> </p><p>“None taken,” he was a pirate, not that she knew that, it just made it worse. “And no doubt your family would be appalled that you are out alone with me as well,” he grinned down at her, baring his teeth in a borderline threatening manner. But like her, apparently, typical fashion she didn’t flinch away like most women. Instead she laughed, not taking his veiled threat seriously. She trusted on a level most would call naive. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes I believe they’d be very upset to find out I’m going to a tavern as well, I wasn’t exactly honest about my age to you,” she admitted. He could have laughed out loud by how adorable she was, she thought she had fooled him? Of course he knows she isn’t old enough for a tavern, but they weren’t going to one that would care. </p><p> </p><p>“I figured,” she looked up at him in surprise and he just smiled innocently as he continued to lead her down the damp cobblestone streets. “Sailor’s need to understand quickly when someone is lying. I’m very good at seeing them miss Mabel.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” she muttered. “And you still asked to see me?” She looked up at him like a small lie was a reason not to see someone a person liked. She obviously had never been confronted with the hard evils of the world before, honesty seemed very important to her. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course, I’d be crazy to not ask out a girl way too good for me, especially when she seems to not notice,” Tad grinned when she blushed. </p><p> </p><p>She was a little piece of heaven, wrapped up in a mystery. Tad’s favorite kind of woman. </p><p> </p><p>“My lady,” Tad bowed to her slightly when he opened the door of the tavern for her, pronouncing the words as a high born would. His eyes glinted when she was not shocked or embarrassed by the formal address. She was used to it.</p><p> </p><p>Was he on a date with nobility? Tad was so very excited to find out. </p><p> </p><p>________________________________________________________</p><p> </p><p>“You alright Mabel?” Ford asked from the opposite side of Dipper in the carriage. Dipper was nervously twitching as he stared up at the manor almost as impressive as his own. “You’ve been very quiet.” </p><p> </p><p>“I’m having my monthly!” Dipper squeaked out, it sounded way too loud to his own ears and he flushed brightly. He’d just blurted it out! He was so high strung that he played that card as soon as Ford even looked at him. That was not a thing a man should ever have to say to his uncle! </p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Ford was blushing now. He grunted and disembarked the carriage faster than Dipper had ever seen another leave a carriage before. </p><p> </p><p>“Well that worked,” Dipper whispered in awe, envious of his sister for such an iron excuse. He was never able to get away with anything! </p><p> </p><p>Dipper disembarked a moment later, weirded out by the strange looks he got until he realized he hadn’t waited for someone to help him out. Girls were supposed to wait. Damn, two minutes in and he was already falling prey to his learned behaviors!</p><p> </p><p>Dipper bowed his head, giving a small smile to those staring and waited for Ford to round the carriage so he could take his arm the way he had seen Mabel do a million times. He fumbled a bit with it but Ford didn’t seem to realize. </p><p> </p><p>“So,” Ford began to try and make pleasant conversation. “I hear you are very excited for this,” he paused, very rusty when it comes to small talk. “Are you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Excited? Yes.” Dipper answered shortly, not wanting to get found out by talking too much. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh good, I’m glad. Too bad Dipper couldn’t come,” he mumbled. </p><p> </p><p>“You just don’t want to chaperone,” Dipper tried to giggle and joke like he knew Mabel would. </p><p> </p><p>“Well . . . Yes,” Ford admitted solidly. </p><p> </p><p>“Well too bad,” Dipper grinned like Mabel would, inwardly he said it to himself too.</p><p> </p><p>Talking became impossible soon enough as they entered the manor, they were announced to the crowd and Dipper felt anxiety consume him as everyone turned to look at him, judge him, lust after him. Geez, Mabel was not understating the looks she gets from men at all, how could he never have noticed this?</p><p> </p><p>Men turned and looked at Dipper like he was a thing to possess, rovering eyes doing nothing but to make Dipper shudder. Next party Dipper escorts Mabel too he’d be knocking a few heads. </p><p> </p><p>But no one seemed to notice that ‘Mabel’ was really Dipper, so Dipper continued with the act and descended the stairs into the crowd. </p><p> </p><p>A blond woman the same age as him met him at the last step, her chaperone an older male as well. </p><p> </p><p>“Hello,” she began with her nose in the air. “Pacífica Northwest,” she curtsied. </p><p> </p><p>“M-able Pines,” Dipper cursed the crack in his throat as he curtsied as well, thanking high heaven that he’d practiced. </p><p> </p><p>“We are so honored to have someone of your stature here tonight, Miss Pines, Preston Northwest,” the man added and Dipper extended a hand to him. He took Dipper’s hand and brushed his knuckles with his lips politely before releasing his hand. “And I’m always glad to see you Mr Pines,” he addressed Ford with an obvious irritation in his brow. “But I assumed the young lord would be escorting Miss Pines, I was hoping to talk business with him.”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper felt his eyebrows raise. This was a first, he didn’t know the Northwest’s sugar cane industries wanted anything to do with the Pines family industrial shipping. </p><p> </p><p>“Very sorry, but Dipper couldn’t make it.” Dipper gave a polite bow of his head. </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper?” The blond scoffed and mr Northwest seemed appalled as well. </p><p> </p><p>“She means her brother, it’s an affectionate nickname she has for him. Must have slipped out,” Ford quickly explained. “Mason is unavailable, but I’m sorry to say that he has no say in the company until he is of age. Until then my brother, I, and a proxy dictated by the late lord and lady, are handling the business.” </p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” mr Northwest nodded. “I see, then suppose you and I should talk? I’m sure the ladies can handle themselves for a bit. I believe the music should start up soon and we wouldn’t want to get in their way,” Mr Northwest smiled charmingly. </p><p> </p><p>“Seems a fine idea,” Ford stiffened a bit and Dipper knew he had no interest and was simply trying to get the man away from Dipper so he’d let him enjoy the party. If he didn’t Dipper was sure the man would follow him around all night to try to make connections to the Pines industry. “Mabel,” he nodded to Dipper as he released his arm and was led off to a side door in the ballroom. </p><p> </p><p>“My father is going to talk his ear off,” the blond, Pacifica, sighed in boredom.  She glanced at Dipper, sizing him up. As a boy, girls often looked at him, he had a high title, a large inheritance, and wasn't bad looking. Plus his mother had believed in bathing regularly so he was normally clean and presentable. But this felt so different, it was like she was looking for weaknesses. Did girls normally give each other looks like this? It was frightening, girls are beautiful monsters. “You look a lot more presentable today,” Pacifica finally spoke with a smirk. He did not like her tone. </p><p> </p><p>“Excuse me?” Dipper narrowed his eyes, not liking how this young lady was speaking to his sister. It may be too him but she thought she was talking to Mabel. </p><p> </p><p>The girl laughed snobbishly and flicked her hair. “You may be a marchioness but you run around town and dress like you should be sleeping with the pigs.” Dipper fumed, how dare she speak to Mabel like this! She was no more than a very wealthy merchant's daughter, Mabel was of royal blood! </p><p> </p><p>“True nobility is measured by a little more than how much gold you spent on your dress, but I’m sure you couldn’t have known,” Dipper smiled thinly at the girl, loving the offended look on her face. </p><p> </p><p>“Well maybe I’ll know soon, I’m sure my father has already talked on and on about the merits of a union between myself and your brother,” the girl flipped her hair again and checked her nails. “You and I might be sisters in the near future.” No way in hell. Dipper almost laughed fully at this woman’s confidence. </p><p> </p><p>“You, Pacifica Northwest, will never marry my brother, our parents made sure that he had complete control of his future wife and uncouth bitch is not his type.” Dipper raised his chin at her icy look before turning and heading towards the dance floor. “I believe I’ve become wary of talking to you.” Dipper felt a little giddy, he’d completely forgotten how fun it was to pretend to be Mabel!</p><p> </p><p>Dipper edged along to sides of the wall, watching as the music started up and young men began to look for an eligible woman to dance with. A few asked to be added to his dance card but Dipper adamantly denied them all. He’d always been a clumsy dancer, he didn’t expect switching positions would make him any less terrible. </p><p> </p><p>“Well my oh my!” Dipper closed his eyes and shuddered when he heard that voice. He’d never been on the receiving end of Gideons ministrations before, but he had real pity for Mabel now. It felt like he was being licked with words, just gross. “You look absolutely ravishing, my sugar plum!” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper turned to look up at Gideon. He was a tall man, a year younger than himself. His face wasn’t fat but he still had a bit of baby fat around his cheeks and neck. His chest was naturally broad but Dipper could tell the man had no muscle. He did not work hard, Dipper would bet his entire inheritance that his daddy bought him his position in the King’s navy. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Mr Gleeful,” Dipper curtsied, refusing to give his hand when Gideon reached out. If this fool was ever going to get the message that Mabel didn’t like him then all polite touching needed to stop. He’d be sending the message that Mabel’s final answer is no all night if he had too. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, no need to be formal. At least not between us,” Gideon seemed put off for only a moment before offering his elbow. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper purposely walked past Gideons elbow, smirking as the man silently stuttered at the obvious rebuttal. </p><p> </p><p>“Mr Gleeful, I believe there are many reasons for me to be formal,” Dipper moved fluidly towards the refreshment table, keeping a formal distance between himself and Gideon. </p><p> </p><p>“But Sugar Plum-“</p><p> </p><p>“Miss Pines is sufficient Mr Gleeful,” Dipper interrupted, fighting back a smile when his face crumpled. Mabel may have trouble seeing his heart broken face but Dipper enjoyed it quite a lot. </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel, what is going on with you?” Gideon stammered, trying to get back the forced compliance he’d had before. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper turned and stared down the white haired navel captain, even shorter the noble tilt of his chin made him feel taller than him. “I’m over you Gideon, that is what is wrong with me. I’m over you using your influence to force me into situations I do not want to be in, I have explained to you that I am not a woman that you will ever have many times.” </p><p> </p><p>“Is this about your brother?” Gideon growled, stepping very threateningly closer to him. Dipper did not like this, did he act this way with Mabel when he wasn’t looking?! “Because I told you that I could convince him to sign off on our love.” </p><p> </p><p>“You do not have to do that, because Mason takes my opinions into account,” Dipper growled, even making sure to use his proper name this time around.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh well Sugar Plum! That’s the problem, I’ve told you that when it comes to marriage a woman’s opinion is unimportant,” Gideon tried to brush his knuckle down Dippers cheek but he vehemently pulled away. His vision flash red from an intense well spring of anger that suddenly boiled up. </p><p> </p><p>How dare he say something like this to Mabel! Her opinion definitely mattered, she more than anyone would know who was right for her!</p><p> </p><p>“How da-“ </p><p> </p><p>“May I have this dance Miss Pines?” Dipper snapped his head around at the sudden intrusion and found he was surprised. </p><p> </p><p>“Marius! I did not know you were coming, I honestly believed you in Austria at the moment.” Dipper happily turned to the gentleman that he hoped Mabel would marry someday. Gideon stood to the side, grinding his teeth. </p><p> </p><p>“I was, but I heard of your parents. . . and decided it would be appropriate, as a suiter, to come and see you, I wished to surprise you,” Marius smiled charmingly at Dipper. </p><p> </p><p>“Sugar Plum who is this?” Gideon finally managed to stop sputtering. </p><p> </p><p>Marius gave Dipper a secret little smile that Dipper thought maybe Mabel would know the meaning of before turning to Gideon. </p><p> </p><p>“Baron Marius Von Fundshauser of Austria, a pleasure I’m sure,” Gideons eyes widened, no one could deny that Marius was a much better match than Gideon. “The Pines family and mine have entered into a tentative courting,” he delicately explained that he was already allowed by the Pines family to chase after Mabel.</p><p> </p><p>“I believe Marius asked for a dance,” Dipper purposely placed his hand on Marius’s arm, choosing him. </p><p> </p><p>“But Sugar Plum!” Gideon made a grab for his arm but Marius was able to intercept. </p><p> </p><p>“Please do not grab at a young woman, do they not teach manners on this side of the world?” Marius glared at Gideon. </p><p> </p><p>Gideon glared back but did not respond to him. “Mabel, I have a gift for you-,”</p><p> </p><p>“And I do not want it,” Dipper stated firmly. </p><p> </p><p>“You heard the lady,” Marius officially turned them away from Gideon and guided Dipper to the dance floor. He really didn’t want to dance but it was worth it if it got him away from Gideon! </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you Marius, I’m glad you are here,” Dipper spoke honestly. He liked Marius, liked him for Mabel, and liked him as a fellow man. </p><p> </p><p>“As much as I know you can handle yourself, I could never resist a damsel in distress,” Marius grinned as he gave Dipper a bow to begin their dance. Dipper almost bowed back but stopped himself and instead curtsied. Marius took his hand and he began to lead him in the dance. </p><p> </p><p>As Dipper expected he was awkward, trying to lead without thinking and then tripping over his skirts. </p><p> </p><p>“I-I am glad you know I can handle myself,” Dipper stuttered out before Marius could ask why he wasn’t as graceful as Mabel normally is. Mabel is a much better dancer than he could ever be. </p><p> </p><p>“Well obviously not tonight, Mabel have you been sneaking drinks again?” Dippers eyes widened. He was learning a lot about the secrets Mabel got up to at these parties. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Dipper mumbled, hating to admit to a lie but it was for Mabel. “Yes, I am a bit tipsy.”</p><p> </p><p>Marius laughed, giving Dipper a bright smile. </p><p> </p><p>“I won’t tell, especially since you’ve kept my dalliance with young miss Grenda quiet,” Dipper tried to hide his shock. “You did a good job at pretending you didn’t know I'd be here as well.” Why wouldn’t Mabel mention her best potential suitor was in town? And why would she hide that he is apparently entangled with one of her new friends? Dipper felt like he’d just been hit with a musket and he needed to know more. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I did.” Dipper cleared his throat. “Marius, might I ask where your relationship with Grenda leaves our potential engagement?” </p><p> </p><p>Marius looked confused. “Did we not talk about this? I’ve already sent papers to my parents, petitioning for my rights to choose Grenda as the next baroness. You supported me in this decision just a few days ago.”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper gapped at the man. Inspired by his courage to take control of his life and horrified for what this meant for Mabel. </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel, you said you were happy for me?” Marius suddenly looked very hurt. And Dipper decided to take pity on him. </p><p> </p><p>“Marius I’m not Mabel. It’s me, Mason.” Marius stumbled, they almost fell over as Maruis tripped over his own ankle. </p><p> </p><p>“Mason?!” He whisper/yelled. “How? Why?!” </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel wanted to go on an outing with a sailor, but she was expected here tonight,” Dipper explained, blushing a bit when Marius increases the distance between them just a bit. “In times like this it’s advantageous to have a twin.”</p><p> </p><p>“You look exactly like her, but I suppose this explains your lack of grace.” Maruis looked completely blindsided before he began to chuckle. “Mabel made you do this, didn’t she? Of course she did, no man wants to be caught in a dress.” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, she promised me her forging skills in return,” Dipper confirmed. “I am happy for you Maruis, I'm envious that you can do such a thing. My options seemed to have dwindled down to an air headed heiress or any number of the boring girls flouncing around the King’s court,” Dipper sighed. </p><p> </p><p>“You could always try to find love while you're here?” Marius offered. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s simply not in the cards for me Maruis. Austria is very different from England my friend,” Dipper sighed. </p><p> </p><p>“Well I mourn the loss of your love life, and I truly hope you find someone that will be good for Mabel.” </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” Dipper nodded meakly, keeping up the girl act since they were in public. </p><p> </p><p>“May I ask, how do you have feminine curves?” Marius raised a brow, his hand sitting very uncomfortably on Dipper's waist. </p><p> </p><p>“We really need to talk about the gifts you give my sister, this corset is a torture device,” Dipper answered. “I can barely breathe.”</p><p> </p><p>Marius laughed heartily. “Oh my, I can’t believe you are wearing that device!” Dipper blushed but did indeed laugh as well. </p><p> </p><p>“Please never speak of this again, this is already incredibly embarrassing for me,” Dipper laughed. </p><p> </p><p>“I won’t mention you but I shall be telling this story for years to come, sorry my friend,” Dipper wanted to be offended but he knew he’d do the same. </p><p> </p><p>“Unfortunately, I understand completely.” </p><p> </p><p>____________________________________________________</p><p> </p><p>Mysterious was a word that one could use to describe Tad’s date for the evening. Vivacious was the word that everyone in the tavern actually used though. </p><p> </p><p>Tad has taken a bit of a risk, he took her to the tavern many of his fellow crew members had decided on to wait for their attack. He figured that if she gets into a jam later maybe one will recognize her as his and leave her alone. Hopefully. </p><p> </p><p>The risk was if his captain would show up. </p><p> </p><p>For now Tad was just enjoying his time with the vivacious mystery that is Miss Mabel. She was deep in her cups now, laughing and talking loudly about a story dealing with her and her sibling. She hadn’t slipped the siblings real name yet, she was excellent at keeping up a lie. </p><p> </p><p>The story of her ‘sister’ being forced to perform something called the ‘Lamby Lamby’ dance was hilarious and endearingly cute. Tad had a hard time not imagining her doing the dance she described and many of the crew were laughing as well. </p><p> </p><p>The crew seemed to like her. </p><p> </p><p>“Where did you find this one Strange?” Pyronica asked as Mabel eyes grew wide when a jig broke out and immediately ran over to join. </p><p> </p><p>“She barreled into me in the market square, I followed because she intrigued me,” Tad answered, preparing to get up to dance with the girl. </p><p> </p><p>“Funny, I’d have guessed you were following your dick. She’s very pretty,” Pyronica laughed, falling back in her seat to guzzle her rum. </p><p> </p><p>“Ha Ha,” Tad mocked before ripping the booze from her hands. “Don’t get wasted, we have a job tonight.” </p><p> </p><p>“Says the man taking time to flounce around with town shirts,” Pyronica mumbled bitterly. </p><p> </p><p>Tad ignored her and got up, he joined the dancing group to catch Mabel’s raised hand and twirled her around. He took the lead in the jig, finding she obviously had never danced it before but her natural grace allowed her to quickly find the rhythm. </p><p> </p><p>There was a practiced ease in her movements, a sign that she had been instructed in classical waltz most of her life. </p><p> </p><p>Tad couldn’t help falling a little in love with the way she moved, and laughed like every moment of life was something to celebrate. The amount of innocent kindness he saw in those sunset brown eyes was enthralling, no one can be this kind. She was an impossible angel, much too good for a pirate. </p><p> </p><p>“Well well well well well!” A high pitched tone entered the tavern stopping it dead. “Who didn’t invite me to the party?” Bill Cipher yelled out jovially causing the tavern full of pirates to cheer. </p><p> </p><p>“Who’s that?” Mabel asked, a happy flush to her cheeks. She seemed to thrive when others around her were cheerful as well. </p><p> </p><p>“Our captain,” Tad answered, really having hoped he wouldn’t have to introduce them but Bill was coming right at him. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh for your passenger ship right? I want to ask him if he’s seen any mermaids!” Mabel giggled and Tad couldn’t help smiling. That was the exact question that made him risk taking her out tonight. </p><p> </p><p>“Strange, weren’t you supposed to be planning with me tonight?” Bill grinned in that way that means he’s irritated. </p><p> </p><p>“And I told you I was otherwise engaged for the night, I rarely ask for nights off <em> William </em>,” Tad pleaded silently for Bill to get his hint to not talk ‘pirate’ at the moment. Bill’s eyes lit up in intrigue and excitement as his one eye fell on Mabel. </p><p> </p><p>“Then this must be the maiden that has distracted my first mate!” Bill took her hand when she happily offered it. </p><p> </p><p>“My apologies for stealing your crewman Captain William,” Mabel was tipsy enough to not realize she had said that all in a formal manner. The kind of formal that could only have been learned in a proper boarding school. Bill's eye narrowed in glee as he no doubt noticed the mystery of Mabel as well. </p><p> </p><p>“No problem at all, I can see you are well worth the distraction,” Bill lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. </p><p> </p><p>“Another charmer!” Mabel squealed. “Tell me captain, have you seen any mermaids in your travels?” Mabel asked. </p><p> </p><p>Bill bellowed out a laugh, delight on his features. “Oh yes, but I assure you that you would never want to meet one young lady,” Bill answered her with a shark toothed smile. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh I’m sure I would!” Mabel argued. “My twin and I often held fantasies about running away on a boat and searching the world over for the strange and unusual!”</p><p> </p><p>“Is that so?” Tad felt his interest perk, not many women wanted onto a ship. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes! In fact at one point we thought we might run away to be pirates!” Mabel giggled, not noticing how the tavern stilled. When she did notice her face paled. “Is that to startling? I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’ve had quite a bit of ale tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>“No need for apologies,” Bill waved away her fear. “We were just shocked that you’d consider such a thing, may I ask why you haven’t run off to the sea?” </p><p> </p><p>Mabel looked to Tad, seeming well and truly out of her wits now and her tongue loosened. But that excited glimmer to her dulled and Tad frowned. </p><p> </p><p>“Because reality is a bitter thing Captain William,” Mabel sighed with a long resigned look. “No matter how fun this night is, or how much I find I like Mr Strange, in a years time my engagements will be set. My husband chosen for me and my twin. . . Will be pulled along by duty and responsibility as well.” Mabel frowned deeply, seemingly cursing the life she had before finishing. “I have no choice in this matter.”</p><p> </p><p>Tad definitely didn’t like any of that. </p><p> </p><p>Before either man could comment she stiffened her shoulders and curtsied to them both. “I find I’m very tired now gentlemen, I think I shall retire for the night. Thank you.”   </p><p> </p><p>Tad watched her confidently slip through the crowd of pirates like none of it bothered her, she didn’t see anything wrong with them, even though she didn’t know they were all pirates. He frowned after her, he’d never felt bad for a high born before, but tonight he did. It was no wonder she’d dream of being a pirate, dream of freedom. </p><p> </p><p>“Go ahead,” Bill sighed whimsically. </p><p> </p><p>“What?” Tad looked over to him. </p><p> </p><p>“Warn her,” Bill clarified. “There’s nothing she could do to stop us now so warn her. Although she definitely won’t like you after, at least she might survive.” Bill picked up a random bottle and drained its contents with a charming grin before sauntering off to gather the crew. </p><p> </p><p>Tad turned quickly and ran out of the tavern after the girl who really should wait for an escort. This isn’t the best part of town. </p><p> </p><p>“Miss Mabel!” Tad called when he caught up with her. She was damn fast for such a little thing. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Mr Strange?” Mabel wiped at her eyes and hid her face. Apparently they were back to formality, and she was done pretending to be a small town girl. </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel, do you want to be a pirate?” Tad found himself asking her seriously. If she agreed he’d take her back to the ship, right now. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel stopped, looking at him with disbelief. “That was a childhood fantasy Mr Strange,” she huffed in irritation. “A fiction that I could never possibly have.”</p><p> </p><p>“But what if it was a possibility?” Tad asked, feeling that if he let her slide into the night unencumbered then he’d never see her again! </p><p> </p><p>“What <em> possible </em> ship wants a woman of my standing Mr Strange?” Mabel snapped as she finally stopped trying to walk away. “I have no skill that is useful outside of the ballroom. I dance, I gossip, and I look pretty next to a man. That’s all I’m good for, please do not entertain my buried dreams. It is crueler than beating a dead horse,” </p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” Tad took her shoulders, speaking to her seriously. “You dance, what is a sword fight but a dance? You gossip, many a secret that saves a ship is found when two sailors gossip. And you definitely are not meant to simply look pretty next to a man! You are no man's accessory, not if you don’t want to be.”  Tad brushed a bit of her bangs back tenderly. This girl had to be magic, he was already in deep. “Do you want to be a pirate Mabel?” </p><p> </p><p>Mabel felt shock run down her spine as she realized that Tad could only ask this seriously if. . . he was a pirate. Suddenly everything in that Tavern made way too much sense. But the scariest thing of all was how much she wanted to say yes. Let this gentleman pirate whisk her away to a life of freedom and choice . . . But Dipper. </p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t leave him to deal with everything by himself, she couldn’t leave him to be the lord whose sister disappeared under his nose. </p><p> </p><p>“Tad,” Mabel gently pushed him away. “I am not someone that can just disappear onto a pirate ship! My twin, and my family; the politics are just-,” she paused, feeling like she was rambling. “I am not a port town girl Tad,” Mabel allowed her proper English accent to shine through. “I am Mabel Pines, 9th marchioness of England, there is no running away from that.” </p><p> </p><p>Tad was left in shock, he’d thought nobility but he didn’t think he’d be right, or that she’d be so far up the chain. While he was left reeling Mabel stepped away, moving into the shadows. </p><p> </p><p>“Goodbye Tad, I wish I could have known more of you,” Mabel gave him a soft smile, trying to turn away but Tad wasn’t done. If she refused to be a pirate then she at least needed to know what kind of danger would descend on this town very soon. </p><p> </p><p>“Wait,” Tad took her elbow, his face darkening in a threatening manner. “You should run, run home and hide Mabel. Do not come out no matter what you hear.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you threatening me now, Mr Strange?” Mabel glared harshly and ripped her arm away. “Because I have more important things than joining your pirate crew to be your traveling whore?!”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Tad didn’t look away even though he was shocked that she would assume such a thing. “If you don’t get home soon, you may get hurt. That’s all I’m saying,” Tad nodded meaningfully to the pirates exiting the tavern, a deadly aura around them. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel understood, fear creeping up her spine. Her family was out, she needed to warn them. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel gave Tad a stiff glare before hiking up her skirt, uncaring as she exposed her ankles, and took off towards the Pines family manor. </p><p> </p><p>Tad watched her go, knowing he was never getting a second chance. Pretty girl like her, she probably has dozens of suitors. </p><p> </p><p>Then a thought occurred to him. </p><p> </p><p>“Pines. . . Where have I heard that name before?” Tad asked himself aloud. </p><p> </p><p>“That would be my arch nemesis’ family name, he lives in this town actually,” Bill said pensively as he joined Tad in watching the girl disappear from view. “Why are you thinking of Pines at the moment?”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s a Pines,” Tad gestured one the general direction Mabel had run. </p><p> </p><p>“You were on a date with a marchioness?” Bill whistled, chuckling at the end. His eye caught the forlorn look on Tads face and laughed fully. “You got your heart broken by a marchioness?! And a Pines at that! There are hundreds of finery draped noble girls and you sniff out the only one that’s a Pines, only you my friend.” Bill clapped him on the back. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re wrong about her,” Tad said quietly as he turned to prepare for the raid. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” Bill asked intrigued. </p><p> </p><p>“There is no other like her, nobility or not.” </p><p> </p><p>Bill chuckled, nodding. “Well, she is a Pines. They are never ordinary.” </p><p> </p><p>______________________________________________________________</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Dipper was exhausted, his feet were sore, and somehow his lower back absolutely ached! These heels were almost as bad as the corset, why was it that female clothes seemed to be made to make women’s lives harder?! Can’t they just be comfortable?</p><p> </p><p>Ford had returned and Dipper had been forced to dance with a few young gentlemen. And that meant a lot of forced and awkward conversation. </p><p> </p><p>Plus how many times he found a few ‘gentleman’s’ hands in his skirts through the night was just plain disconcerting! He’d been groped and felt up far more than he’d have preferred, he wished dearly that he could have popped a few of them in the nose. Especially that one that gave him a smirk that shoated: <em> what are you gonna do about it? I can touch you if I want, woman! </em> Then he also had to keep avoiding and rebuffing Gideon the entire time! </p><p> </p><p>Point was, Dipper was so tired he could drop by the end of the night. So he was in no mood when Gideon stopped his progress to board the carriage as he tried to leave. </p><p> </p><p>“Miss Mabel!” Gideon looked red in the face, no longer trying for civility. “If you would stop a moment and just listen!” </p><p> </p><p>“Mr Gleeful, lower your voice when addressing a lady!” Ford snapped at the white haired captain. </p><p> </p><p>“If you all would just hold on a minute now and accept this gift! It’s a token I got just for you from my conquest against the Red Sail Pirates!” Gideon proclaimed a little desperately. </p><p> </p><p>“The only thing I want from you Mr Gleeful, is for you to leave me alone,” Dipper stepped primly into the carriage and moved to try and slam the door. He caught a glimpse of Gideon looking at his pocket watch worriedly as he grabbed the door to slam shut. </p><p> </p><p>Gideons eyes grew wide and he grabbed the door to stop it. Ford growled a threat at him but Gideon was already speaking over him. “Then I’ll leave you alone Miss Mabel!” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper paused at that, Ford stopping as well. </p><p> </p><p>“Really?” Dipper asked sceptically. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, if you feel this strongly then I will stop pursuing you but please at least accept this gift?” Gideon held up a golden choker, a one eyed triangle clipped to the band, it shimmered with rubies. It must cost the Kings random! “I had quite the time getting permission to keep it, just for you! And even if we will never marry it would do me proud if I could see you just wear it once.” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper looked to Gideon, then back to the choker before sighing. “Alright, if it will bring an end to this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mabel, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Ford assured him. </p><p> </p><p>“No, it’s alright Uncle Ford,” Dipper sighed again. “I’m very tired now and this seems the fastest route to end this delay.” Dipper stepped out of the carriage and allowed Gideon’s pudgy fingers to wrap the necklace around his neck and clip it together. Dipper felt some odd feeling from the choker, it pulsed as if alice, like it was locking together with a force Dipper didn’t understand. </p><p> </p><p>He quickly forgot the feeling as he turned back and allowed Gideon to see him wearing the trinket. </p><p> </p><p>“It looks so lovely on you Miss Mabel, I insist you keep it. To remember me by.” Dipper bit his lip before resigning again. He supposed a goodbye gift wasn’t too much to ask. </p><p> </p><p>“Alright, thank you mr Gleeful. Goodnight then,” Dipper nodded and curtsied, allowing Ford to help him back up into the carriage. </p><p> </p><p>Gideon was grinning now and waved them off as Ford joined him in the carriage and the driver shoved off. </p><p> </p><p>“You sure that was a good idea Mabel?” Ford asked, his eyes glued to the golden charm now dangling from Dipper's neck. “That charm looks oddly familiar, it’s giving me a bad feeling.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure it’s fine, once we get home I can discard it if that makes you feel better Uncle Ford,” Dipper said, just happy that this night was almost over. Soon he’ll get out of this horrid corset. </p><p> </p><p>“That would be good, something about it is agitating an old memory,” Ford scratched his head in irritation, reaching for a memory that didn’t seem to want to be remembered. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper hummed, too tired to really find the motivation to be interested. He loved his great uncle and found him fascinating but he was just so tired. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m just glad you had fun,” Ford said after a moment, letting the irrigation go. “it was worth talking with that awful Northwest fellow if it meant you had some fun,” Ford smiled happily at the girl. Those parent of theirs were certainly good people but he wished they’d let the kids enjoy themselves a bit more. Poor Dipper didn’t even know what he liked before he got here! “That rat bas-,” Ford coughed, stopping himself from cursing in front of a lady. “That awful man actually tried to get me to set an engagement between his daughter and Dipper without his involvement!” Ford growled. “Like I would do that without his input, people like him treat their children as if they are cattle!”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper looked up with hazy, half open eyes at Ford. He was happy to let him rant, just glad to know someone cared enough to be mad in his defense. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper yawned, a lazy smile stretching over his face when he spotted the Pines manor coming up in the distance from his window. </p><p> </p><p>“Tired yourself out there, didn’t you kid?” Ford chuckled as he calmed himself down. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper just gave a lazy nod, letting his eyes slide shut. </p><p> </p><p>“PIRATES!” The shrieking voice of Mabel had Dipper’s eyes snapping open in alarm. The carriage stopped with a jerk, Ford and Dipper jumping out to see what was happening almost on their doorstep. </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel?!” Ford gasped as he spotted the girl, confused as all hell. It looked like she had run through mud, fallen over, and tripped. Her face had cuts and her arms were all scraped up! Ford stared at Mabel, rubbed his eyes and then snapped his head over to Dipper and back. One version of Mabel dirty and ragged, the other dresses up to meet the queen. “Which one is Dipper?!” Ford demanded. </p><p> </p><p>“There isn’t time for that! Pirates are attacking the town!” Mabel screamed, tear tracks on his cheeks wetting freshly. With her announcement a boom rattled the ground under them and light from an explosion lit the air around them. </p><p> </p><p>Ford gasped, looking down at the town in horror. </p><p> </p><p>“Whichever one of you is Dipper! Get your sister inside and lock the doors! Hide in your room and do not let anyone see you!” Ford demanded. He turned, marching towards the house, yelling for Stan to bring the weapons in a hurry. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay!” Dipper yelled, hiking up his skirts and grabbing Mabel’s hand to hurry her inside. Ford looked at him and shook his head. </p><p> </p><p>“Do not think we won’t be talking about this later!” Ford shouted as he ran off towards Stan's room, leaving the twins to get to safety on their own. </p><p> </p><p>“Come on Mabes!” Dipper dragged her towards their room. </p><p> </p><p>“I thou-thought h-h-he was a-a good man!” Mabel sobbed into her left arm as she was dragged by her right towards their room. Dipper paused and looked back at her, worrying his lip about what could have happened. </p><p> </p><p>“Let’s just hide,” Dipper mumbled, knowing now was not a good time to build a fort and talk about it. </p><p> </p><p>“He was a pirate Dipper, he was plotting to lay siege on our home while dancing with me!” Mabel cried as Dipper pulled her into their room and began to barricade the door. </p><p> </p><p>The sounds of screaming and fighting reached the manor. Dipper rushed to the window as soon as he was done with the door and witnessed the town on fire! He only got a glimpse of his uncles running down the road, swords drawn. </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper! Are you listening?!” Mabel cried desperately while Dipper watched the household servants running around like chickens with their heads cut off to try and defend the home. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course Mabel! But I’m a little concerned by the fact of pirates attacking!” Dipper snapped before feeling awful when he looked back at her pale and stricken face. “That must have been really scary Mabes, i'm sorry that happened but I’m just glad you’re alive at the moment.” </p><p> </p><p>Mabel sniffled. “He asked me to join his ship,” she whispered. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper stopped dead at that. They had once dreamed of that, before they knew what real pirates were like. Before they knew of murder, and bloodshed. </p><p> </p><p>“You wanted to go didn’t you?” Dipper held no betrayal in his voice. He would have wanted it too in the moment if a strapping gentleman pirate asked him to stay. And Mabel knew that, she was, after all, the only one that knew he held no real interest in girls. That had been the main appeal of being a pirate, having the freedom to explore the feelings he felt towards other men. </p><p> </p><p>But they both knew why they couldn’t do that. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she whispered down at her hands, more tears hitting her hands. “For just a moment. . . The dream was so real Dipper!” Her voice shook. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper tsked, moving to her quickly and wrapping her up in a big hug. “I know, it’s so hard.” He held her tight, flinching at every boom and scream that came from the distance. </p><p> </p><p>But then they began to get closer. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper and Mabel looked to the window with wide scared eyes and edged towards it. </p><p> </p><p>They peeked out and froze up in terror as they witnessed their servants being slaughtered. Laughing madmen tore into them with guns and swords. </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper,” Mabel whimpered. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper squeezed her shoulder as one of them looked up, spotting them before they could hide. The door was quickly beaten down and Dipper hustled her in the closet. </p><p> </p><p>Laughing echoed through the house. The pirates were in the house. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Life as we know it</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Dipper’s hand felt sweaty around the ornate dagger he held pitifully for protection. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>bang bang bang</span>
  </em>
  <span> of someone trying to beat down their bedroom door caused him and Mabel to jump out of there skin with every hit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are ye sure it's here?” A voice growled outside their room, muffled and grumpy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You doubt my skill at reading our captain's compass?! It’s in there!” A guttural voice answered, sounding vaguely womanly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dipper, I recognize her voice. She was in the tavern,” Mabel whispered, fear visible in her eyes even in the darkness of the closet. “Do you thi-think he sent them after me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper shivered, shifting himself to push her against the wall behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He won’t get you Mabel, he’ll have to kill me thrice before he takes you away from me,” Dipper pledged as her hands dug into the fabric on his back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the very least, it was possible the fact that they both appeared to be women would give them an advantage. He wiped his sweaty palms and held the dagger firm. This was not a weapon meant to be used, it was beautiful and dull, meant to be admired by those with no skill while it hung pointlessly on a wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt a lot like this dagger most of his life. Useless for anything besides being placed up on a shelf and admired for his dull edge. He was sure Mabel felt much the same. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now here they were, listening to their bedroom door being beaten down with not but a dull dagger and the hope that a skirt will distract their attackers long enough to survive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s going to be okay,” Dipper tried to assure his whimpering sister. “Ford and Stan will come to check on us, and I will protect you.” He promised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper jumped when the sound of splinting wood and manic laughter assaulted the small room. Footsteps entered and Dipper held his breath as they invaded the bedroom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Two beds,” the woman’s voice laughed. “Come out little girls! I saw you peeking out from the window, I know you’re here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah yeah, we know you’re here!” The other voice giggled almost drunkenly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica looked over the room with interest. One side had embroidery projects, swabs of fabric thrown around in a messy fashion, and what looked like letters being written by a multitude of people on the desk. Each letter was written in a different script and a collection of different wax stamps were lined up on the desk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other side had more books than she’d ever read before, everything was military perfect clean, even the bed made up so tight a shilling would bounce on it. The only pieces of individuality were the stars carved into the wood ceiling above it and the six or so dresses disposed of on the trunk at the end. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come out, come out wherever you are,” Pyronica called whimsically. She eyed the room with a smirk, single eye catching on the closet. With a glance she checked the golden compass her captain had entrusted her with, seeing it pointed squarely at the closet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper wasn’t breathing, his back was pressed against Mabel and he could feel tears at the edges of his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you under your beds?” The woman’s voice asked mockingly. “Hiding like scared children from the bogeyman,” the floorboards creaked and laughing broke out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They not here,” the man’s voice sounded to be grinning. Mabel’s breath wasn’t panting hot and frantic against his neck as the footsteps got closer to the closet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper gulped, adjusting the dagger only for it to slip from his fingers and clang noisily against the floor. “Shit,” Dipper gasped and grabbed at the dagger as the closet door was yanked open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here you are!” A pink haired woman grinned down at them. Dipper sprung up, waving the dagger wildly at the woman’s neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The woman leaped back, giggling as she quickly drew a dagger of her own and the metal clashed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel screamed as the second pirate dragged her by her hair out of the closet, Dipper glanced over in fear for just a moment and that ended up being his undoing. The dagger was knocked from his hand and his wrist grabbed in a bruising grip, forcing him down to his knees next to his sobbing sister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well if it isn’t the ‘not so town skirt’!” The pink haired woman gave a sharp toothed smile, pointing her dagger at Mabel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you dare touch us the crown will see you hanged!” Dipper yelled, trying to draw their eyes off his sister. “We are of royal blood and having that on your hands will be a death sentence!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pink haired woman looked back to him, a smirk still on her face. “Is that so,” she hummed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, can I have this one?” The man grinned with teeth too large for a normal human, gripping Mabel’s hair tighter to wrench her head back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dagger flew as the woman threw it at the man’s head. “Nevermind the crown, Strange will have your balls for even entertaining the thought!” She hissed at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Leave my sister be!” Dipper screamed at the same time, trying to wiggle himself between her and the pirates. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or what? You’ll sic the Crown on us?” The pink haired woman asked mockingly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want from us?!” Mabel gained her courage to yell, trying to yank her hair out of the man’s hand but only succeeded in ripping her hair and causing herself harm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pink haired woman grinned, seemingly the question reminded her of why she was there. “One of you, lovely ladies, has been bought and paid for, we are your humble delivery service!” She gave a mock bow to them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel’s face paled, and she whimpered in fear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You demons will not take my sister!” Dipper yelled, his mind not even comprehending how because he looked like Mabel, they meant both of them were an option. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A glimmer came to the pink haired woman’s eye as she grabbed his chin and tipped it up. She grew excited as she eyed the golden pendant on his neck. “That, you are right about.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt the first curl of fear for himself as their attention stayed on him. He realized too late that he was dressed as a woman, and he was the one in finery, he was the one that looked like a target. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Mabel screamed. “Please! Uncle Ford! Uncle Stan! HELP US!” Mabel became hysterical, screaming for help the moment the threat of their separation became real. They had never been apart, they were supposed to have a year to come to terms with the reality. Now it was all too real, and they wouldn’t even know if the other was safe!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut ‘er up!” The man snapped, putting his hands over his ugly small ears. The pink haired woman grabbed a rag from the end table and shoved it in Mabel’s mouth, tying another around her head to gag her unceremoniously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you hurt her!” Dipper demanded, struggling to get up, only to receive a back hand that threw him to the ground. Dipper was left gasping, he’d never been hit before. He was a sole heir, sole heirs didn’t learn to fight or get put in danger. He had no experience with pain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Both of you stay quiet!” She took out another dagger and waved it threateningly in front of the twins. “What say you Teeth, should we just take both?” The pink haired woman turned to the man, Teeth, the moment she got her point across to ask. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! Please leave my sister be,” Dipper begged, flinching when the woman raised her hand again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I said shut it!” Pyronica snapped and looked back to Teeth. Taking the girl not wearing the marking necklace would be a risk. On one hand Tad could potentially be very happy they brought back his lady love, but on the other he was a big advocate for women’s right to choose when it came to love and the flesh, so he’d more likely be pissed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You came for me didn’t you?” The dressed up girl asked desperately. “Then take me! Leave my sister alone and take me, I won’t struggle or fight!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now that’s an interesting bargain!” Pyronica grinned, leaning down to get in the girl's face. While both were beautiful, being exactly the same, this one showed off how well they cleaned up. She was the one wearing the collar so she was the only one they were required to bring back. “No screaming, or dragging your thirty shilling heels from you? Promise?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper glanced to Mabel’s wet face, she shook her head desperately at him but once again Dipper would do anything for Mabel. Even get captured by pirates for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! I promise, just leave my sister alone!” Dipper agreed, his was yanked up a moment later and shoved for the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then we have an accord!” The pink haired woman kept shoving him. “And be sure to remember we always have time to come back and take your sister should you break it!” She laughed. Mabel screamed for him through the gag, sobbing and gagging. She tried to get up to run after them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Teeth! Tie her up so she can’t follow!” The pink haired woman yelled and Dipper's eyes widened when he was fully forced out while his sister was left alone with a man that asked to take her!  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t leave her alone with that man!” Dipper growled at the woman dragging him. “She’s a defense girl!” Dipper moved to try and run back to his sister but stopped when a knife touched his neck, nicking him with its deadly sharp edge. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He won’t touch her as long as you don’t struggle,” she hissed. “You cooperate with me, or else, he might really hurt her.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper clenched his teeth, hating that he’s choices were either trusting the pirate or not trusting and the pirates taking it out on his sister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Dipper yanked her hand off his arm the moment she put the knife away. “But I wish you to know, I hate you,” Dipper turned and began to walk for the stairs, ignoring the blood and bodies strewn about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh wow, that sure hurts rich girl,” the woman laughed, shoving Dipper in the back and causing him to grab the railing so as not to topple down them. Dipper glared back at her but didn’t say anymore. He straightened his shoulders, patted down his ruffled shirts and walked himself to what he was sure would end in his death. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He doubted whoever paid the pirates to abduct a Pines twin wanted the male out of the two. Once the pirates figured out that the Pines twins weren’t both female or someone checked his skirts, Dipper was sure he’d die, but at least Mabel was safe. As soon as the handlers hear that he’s gone, they will send for Mabel, take her back to England. Their parents will protects her in the case of his death, she’d still be fine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The walk through the town was nerve splintering, explosions were erupting around them, people were screaming, and blood was everywhere. Some even seeping into his shoes. The pirates seemed uncaring of the mayhem, they walked confidently through it all like a princess walked through a court ballroom. This was their element. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they had left the manor the woman had fired some kind of smoke trailing bullet into the air, the gold color of it like a signal to the rest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they had walked Dipper had noted the effect the lingering yellow smoke trail in the sky had on them. The pirates were still attacking but it seemed like they were all headed back. It must have been a signal that they had what they wanted, so return to the ship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper tried to control the shaking, he was continuing to walk on purely grit and willpower. He needed them away from Mabel, as far as possible before they realized they actually wanted her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The shore line met up with them before Dipper could work himself into a frenzy of jittering nerves that had once been called his </span>
  <em>
    <span>hysteria</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Long boats were lined up on the beach and Dipper gulped as he spotted the many pirates ready to disembark. The dark ship in the distance was like a raven on a window seal, a marker of death just over the horizon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look boys! We got ourselves a little princess!” Pyronica called, pushing the little girl forward. She was shaking, but hadn't cried. She’d held her head high and walked through a battle while obviously unnerved and terrified. The girls got balls, Pyronica likes her, it was a shame that fat gutted naval officer was the one that would claim her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pirates all hooted and hollered, cheering and laughing at the captured noble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who gets to have her alone while we row her over?” Someone asked and Dipper shivered, stumbling back. It was common knowledge what happens to women when pirates attack and Dipper needed to be believed to be a woman for a little longer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“None of you lot!” The pink haired women yelled back. “Captain wants her unharmed and untouched!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group groaned, yelling about how unfair that was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If the buyer sees one bruise, we don’t get paid you bunch of lustful rats!” Someone else yelled over the crowd, making them all go quite. The voice sounded weird, way too normal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper turned to see the man and found a tall, black haired gentleman that held himself much the way a noble would. His clothes were clean of any blood, black trousers, a white loose tunic shirt, and a gold bandana wrapped around his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you all think you're on holiday, or would you like to cast off before the navy comes to have you dance the hempen jig?!” The man yelled at the crowd. The woman grabbed Dipper’s arm and began to pull him towards a longboat without another word. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt a single tear roll down his face as he was shoved into the boat and it was pushed into the water. As the pirates all hopped into the longboat Dipper was left to try and catch his balance before his eyes caught on the town on fire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The destruction, the mayhem, the sheer apocalyptic levels of chaos that had descended upon them all from this one pirate ship was unbelievable. Dipper almost couldn't believe this was happening to him. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it had stopped, his body didn’t even feel like his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fire reflected off the dark waters, making it feel like he’d taken a step into hell itself. Dipper felt his breath leave him as they began to row him away from safety. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kid!” Dipper snapped his head to the beach to see his uncle Stan kicking someone aside and slashing their throat before running to the shore line. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“UNCLE STAN!” Dipper moved to stand, only getting dragged back down to the seat for his trouble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“RELEASE MY NIECE!” Stan yelled, running into the water and attempting to swim to Dipper. The pirates laughed like his desperation was hilarious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stan! Go back to shore, there are sharks!” Dipper yelled, seeing the beasts swimming just under the surface of the water, drawn by the blood to feast. “I’ll be okay! Take care of our family, please!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stan stopped, the water at his chest. His face looked stricken and lost, feeling broken that he hadn’t been able to get to the girl in time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will find you!” He yelled as he backed up onto the shore. “Pines stick together, don’t you forget that! I will never stop searching for you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Dipper whispered across the water, one more tear dripping into the sea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you lot hurt her I’ll-,” his voice was lost to the winds and distance, the pirates not even stopping to allow him one last goodbye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper glared at them all before he slapped the hands off him, shooting to his feet, and screamed as loud as he could: “I LOVE YOU! TELL MABEL I LOVE HER TOO!” Dipper smiled, even as tears finally fell uncensored down his face and hands were yanking him back down. He wasn’t going to allow these people to stop him from saying goodbye, he would go to the grave before they stopped him from that. “And thank you,” Dipper whispered softly as his hands were bound and his mouth gagged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He closed his eyes as he thought of all he truly had to be thankfully for when it came to his uncles. They gave him his first taste of freedom, he knew they were the reason his tutors weren’t brought over. They gave him the ability to find his own passions. Even if he died soon, at least he got a chance to live for once. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The longboat reached the ship faster than Dipper would have liked, this would be the end of his life as he knew it. It was hard to have any hope when the pirates were connecting the riggings and they fully expected a lass, not a lad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper sat as primly as possible, trying not to be knocked off his seat and just hold his head high. His eyes glanced over to the ‘normal’ sounding pirate, the man kept glancing at Dipper too. Dipper narrowed his eyes as he realized this must be the pirate that Mabel met up with. He could tell by the torn look on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper wished to shout at him but he was gagged so he instead huffed and gave the man a harsh glare. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad felt a little startled by the strong will and hostility radiating off the girl. Of course she had been kidnapped so some was expected but he would have expected twin sisters to be more alike but this girl was a mystery in her own right. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad couldn’t help but see Mabel when he looked at her, he had no idea they’d look so similar, like mirror images they were! Although he now knew just how beautiful Mabel could be deck out in full, absolutely gorgeous girls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper tried to keep his breathing even as the boats were raised and the pirates disembarked to land heavily on the weather deck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper forced himself to stand on shaking legs and allowed the pink haired pirate to lift him out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are all hands aboard?” The gentleman pirate called over the group of pirates. He looked around as if he could remember every sailor on the ship. He nodded to himself and looked towards the helm. “Captain! All surviving hands are aboard!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper turned with the rest of the crew to look at the captain and Dipper felt a flush color his cheeks at the man he saw. Golden locks fell over tanned skin, one glimmering molten eye, and the sultry smile of the devil himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man stepped forward, broad shoulders rolling as he grabbed his captains hat from his head and held it aloft in victory. “Then what are you waiting for, you bunch of scallywags?! Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen, or I’ll keelhaul you all!” He grinned, sounding both to be joking and entirely serious at the same time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“AYE AYE!” The crew cheered, all of them jumping there jobs to turn the ship around and head off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Strange! Where’s my loot?” The captain held the helm with one hand, seemingly uncaring about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The gentleman pirate took Dipper’s arm and steered him almost gently over to the raised deck and presented him to the captain. The pink haired woman raced forward and took the helm from the captain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The captain let the helm go and stepped down the stairs towards Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here’s the lass, all tousled up and pretty for you,” Strange held him by his shoulders in front of the captain. Dipper shook the spellbinding lust he had for the captain out of his head and glared instead, trying to yell threw the gag that he wasn’t ‘loot’!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why is she all tied up?” The captain asked. “You know the buyer wants her treated like the little lady she is,” the captain was barely even looking at him, it was like he couldn’t care less what his captive of the night looked like. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She was screaming in the longboat, and almost capsized us in shark infested waters,” the gentleman pirate explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well we are not in a longboat now, are we?” The captain smiled sharply, indicating towards the rope tying Dippers hands. “Untie her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man sighed and ungagged Dipper. He worked his mouth at the dry feeling the rag had left behind, hating the taste of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There she is,” the captain whistled before going silent and yanking Dipper's head up by his chin. “Is it me or does the loot’s face look familiar~?” The captain asked as the gentleman was untying Dippers hands. “This girl look just like-,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment Dipper’s hands were free he turned on a dime, swung his fist and hit the gentleman pirate in the face so hard blood began to pour down his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s for my sister, you bilge-sucking demon!” Dipper screeched, trying to go in for a second hit but the captain quickly grabbed his arms and pulled him away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I guess that answers that!” The captain laughed as his crewmate bled, holding his nose and looking shocked. “Looks like your date's sister packs a punch!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Most women go for a slap, I wasn’t expecting a punch,” he seemed to say as defense for why he’d gotten hit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do not underestimate the lengths a </span>
  <em>
    <span>twin</span>
  </em>
  <span> will go! We feel each other’s pain doubled, my sister is not a Jenny to crack tea with!” Dipper screeched, struggling with all his might to attack the pirate once again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why do these sisters both assume I thought Miss Mabel as a whore?” He asked with a furrow of his brows. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No clue, but really? Such words from these ladies!” The captain laughed back. “And miss, the term is crack jenny's teacup,” the captain corrected. “If you wish to speak pirate then speak it proper, Miss Pines.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is her ladyship marchioness Pines to you, pirates!” Dipper thrashed in the pirates arms, feeling the burn of his skin touching him. He hated it, it made him feel dirty. He surprised himself with how well he adjusted to referring to himself as a lady. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t in incorporated territory anymore Little Lady!” The captain shook him until he stopped struggling. “You and your titles aren’t anything on this ship. Now Strange, would you please bring my loot to my cabin, it’s going to be a very long night for her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper jolted as he was shoved, yet again, back into the pirate, Strange, arms. He did not like what was implied in those words and even though he was not a woman Dipper didn’t believe he was far enough away from the coast line yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! Release me! I am no man’s prize and I am definitely not your whore!” Dipper threw elbows and kicked his feet. One of his heels flew off and knocked a crew member in the head, blood that had seeped into the heel splattering all over his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Calm down your highness, you aren’t exactly my type,” the captain mocked him, indicating his dress with his eye. Dipper's face paled further and he suddenly felt in much more danger. He knew that bad things didn’t only happen to women, that it was possible with a man. He’d have to know considering where his mind sometimes strayed. “Your future husband paid us an advance to treat you extra special, so the captain's cabin is all made up for you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper grew furious, kicking back to hit the pirate holding him. The man squaked as Dipper remaining heel clipped his shin. Dipper dropped to the ground, almost falling when he didn’t prepare for only having one heel on. Dipper hopped on one leg and pulled the shoe off and then threw the shoe at the pirate Strange. More blood splattering his shirt.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no fiancé, and I will not have that chosen for me!” Dipper stamped a foot. “I will be perfectly content in the brig as you call it, or have I said that wrong as well?” Dipper knew getting to sleep in a real bed was a good thing, and that he’d be safer there but this was a matter of principle. He wouldn’t take a bed paid for by a man who paid pirates to kidnap his sister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The captain seemed entranced by the stance he took, he blinked a few times. “The Pines always surprise me, this ones a mystery as well!” He chuckled. Walking forward to plant himself right in front of the Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill Cipher didn’t think he’d ever met a girl like this before, she acted like a man trying to show a backbone in a hopeless situation! Why would the universe toss the perfect specimen in his lap with the wrong parts? That’s just cruel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked her over slowly, noting how the beautiful baby blue silk made her skin glow, much like how he’d picture an angel. Her hair was somehow still perfectly set and her skin flawless, if you ignored the tear tracks. The gold of his marking necklace clashed with her outfit, he was surprised the fool that bought her even managed to get it on! One thing caught his attention, a Druid’s necklace was hanging from her slender neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was an odd thing for a noble to have, the crown frowned on what they believed to be witchcraft and the Druids were definitely witches to them. Bill reached for it, watching as the girl jumped and covered the necklace like it was precious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s an odd trinket to have,” he murmured down as he forced it from her hands, holding both wrists in one hand so he could examine it with the other. It was a crude rendering of the Tree Of Life with a sapphire in the center. “What month were you born?” He asked as he held it up to the moonlight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pr-pray tell, wha-what reason would you need th-that information!?” The girl tried to jerk away but Bill twisted her so her back was pressed against his chest, holding her wrists against her flat breasts. Effectively keeping her near still. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Spit it out lass!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“August! August 31st!” The girl growled, wiggling against him. Bill hummed, in thought. Then he realized something surprising: it would seem he was responding bodily  to the girl in a way he’d never responded to a girl before, odd. Quickly he ignored it and focused back on the necklace. Sapphire was the stone assigned to September children, making the necklace even stranger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where did you get this necklace?” He asked curiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was my mother’s! Please take anything else but not that, I only have so much of her!” The girl cried, her chest beginning to rise and fall rapidly. She’d held herself together for quite awhile, it was impressive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Pinetree,” he smirked, the nickname just slipping out so naturally, dropping the trinket to dangly around her neck. “Back to your arrangements for the night. You could go to the brig, but there is no protection there. My men could sneak in at any time for a late night romp. Or you can take my damn bed for one measly night and be well rested to fight off your buyer tomorrow, savvy?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl glared at him and Bill smirked. “Listen Pinetree, the way I see it we aren’t your true enemy here. We are just some buccaneers trying to get paid, your issue is with the man that paid us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper couldn’t deny the logic in that, in any of it really. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope you hid your weaponry well, if not, I may kill you in your sleep,” Dipper resigned to the fate of sleeping in this captain's bed with a threat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh don’t you worry, I even turned down the sheets for her ladyship,” Bill grinned laying his cheek on the girls pinned up curls. He decided the lust he felt for her must be his curiosity since he’d never felt this way towards a lassie before. Bill took a moment before taking her arm and dragging her to the doors of his office that would lead back to his cabin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She tripped and had a hard time following, the dress twisting around her feet without the heels to give her the extra height. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Interesting</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Bill noticed the dress wasn’t tailored to her, the hem hanging just an inch too low. Didn't the nobles spend hundreds on getting these clothes tailored to them? Seemed an oversight that just wouldn’t happen. So whose dress was she wearing  and why was she wearing it? Curious and curiouser, all the time these Pines. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill opened his cabin and pushed the girl in. “Welcome to The Rift, Pinetree~! I do so hope you enjoy your stay, there are some things provided to pretty yourself for your buyer tomorrow, if you need anything at all keep it to yourself!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doors were slammed shut and locked with that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper wanted to scream, maybe cry but in the end he decided for, at the very least, loosening the corset and falling onto the bed. His previous exhaustion hit him as the adrenaline abandoned him and he soon fell asleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>___________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill tapped out a jig as he moved in a semi dance, semi walk out of his office, humming happily. This was a huge score for the crew, that little navel captain had promised a huge payday for this girl. They already had half and now they had the girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This would fund their next adventure! And all for one puffed up noble!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although there were a few things that bugged the ship captain. The girl's dress was just tugging on his mind incessantly for one, there was something to that, he just didn’t know why yet. Then there was that Druids necklace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fact that it was made of unpolished silver was strange, then that it was shaped like the Tree Of Life, and then finally the sapphire. Not being able to get that sapphire out of his head Bill frowned angrily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Most Druids adorned their necks with their children’s birthstones but sapphire wasn’t her birthstone. So it had to have a meaning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill shook his head, clearing the thought. He’d be rid of the girl in the morning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although after meeting the girl he had the feeling that he should up her price. She was worth far more than what they were being paid. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill left his office and joined his crew back on deck, they paused all around to watch him lock his office doors. They all held disappointed looks that they wouldn’t get to play with the captive, they always liked seeing him give a flogging, or run a good rig. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill took his place at the helm, waving Pyronica away. Strange quickly took his place next to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She was certainly a surprise,” Tad spoke after a moment of silently watching the crew go about their jobs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, who would have guessed you’d find the identical twin of the girl we’d come to collect,” Bill cleared his throat and adjusted the course. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I meant her, specifically. She’s an odd girl, no doubt, it’s no wonder that captain needed to have her kidnapped, can’t imagine anyone wooing her; least not successfully.” Tad said this all as he worked to clean his face of the blood she had spilt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Say that again to a seadog that doesn't prefer their bed partners on the more violent side,” Bill cackled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If only she had the proper equipment for you to enjoy, then I could say we both found love on this endeavor!” Tad laughed sadly, eyes glancing back at the now distant port his item of affection lived. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She definitely hates you now, why not just take her if she’s going to hate you either way?” Bill asked curiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You may not care about the willingness of your bed partners Bill, but I do. I wouldn’t keep a young woman that doesn’t want me, especially in a life like this,” Tod sighed. He’d always been a romantic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lovely sentiment, but I converted to the idea that you take what life throws at you, long ago.” Bill turned the helm slightly to port. “Men like me have less choice, so sometimes we need to take, and when we like something we keep it even if it means suffocating it just a little. Quite like a pirate, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure there is a man out there, spunky, young, and enticingly mysterious. All while being open to loyalty to you and you loins,” Strange grinned, trying to picture such a man his captain would take as a consort. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you forget pretty, first mate, I like them small and pretty. Probably the only thing I have in common with you normal men.” Bill also imagined, but somehow only the girl in his cabin popped in his head. “That damnable wench must have placed a curse on me,” Bill whispered. He was the only one that was allowed to curse people! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye captain, I believe in this world of men and sea you are simply picky,” Tod snipped with a sly smile at his captain. It wasn’t like two men were anything new to a buccaneer, in fact some would say piracy blossomed because of it. Bill laughed, agreeing that he was alone not because of lack of options but because he was just picky. “Think you’ll ever engage in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>matelotage</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Tad asked curiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pirate marriage?” The captain asked, shocked his first mate had to ask. “I would consider it, if I found the right man.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I believe a seamanship would serve you well,” Tad told him, turning to head off and check the masts, and the rest of his nightly duties. “Although I must confess I cannot picture you embracing before battle, nor pounding at your chest in respect to them.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just because you can’t picture it, doesn’t mean it can’t happen, matey,” Bill mused. “Off with you, heart broken or not you have a job to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course Captain,” Tad tipped his hat and was off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill smiled, thinking of the fantasy, freedom in spirit and sex. That was what enticed him to piracy in the first place. It had only been fifteen years since his first voyage had been attacked by pirates and they had called for any man that wished to be free to mate who they wished to come aboard, or go down with the ship. Even at ten William Cipher knew what he liked, and that his government would see him hanged for it. So he picked piracy, now he just needed to find the consort that would be his for a free and short life. As all pirate lives should be!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yo ho, yo ho,” Bill whistled. “Tis good to be a pirate!” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I did SOO MUCH RESEARCH for this chapter! Guys I found out that gay relationship and even gay marriages were not only accepted but the norm in pirate culture! It’s freaking fascinating! I also learned a lot of pirate terms today so that was fun.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Genders hidden and relieved</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mabel wiggled across the floor like a worm, using her chin and tied up feet to inch her slowly towards the dagger Dipper had dropped. She needed to get free and chase after Dipper! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could he be so stupid to pretend to be a girl in a situation like that?! They’ll kill him once they realize he was a He. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why did she have to ask Dipper to pose as her for that stupid party? It seemed so stupid to have him do that, just so their reputation stayed safe. An invite to a party they wouldn’t be able to attend wasn't worth losing her brother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel was still crying, the tears hadn’t stopped since she had been left alone with the pirate that had tied her up. Luckily he hadn’t done anything more than tie her up tight, but still she cried at the loss of her twin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’d never been alone before, they’d always been together and Mabel didn’t think she’d last alone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“DIPPER?!” Uncle Stan's voice echoed through the house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure it was Mabel?” Uncle Ford's voice spoke from down the hall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know what my niece looks like! They had her in their longboats but Dipper wasn’t there, that means he’s got to be here!” Stan’s voice sounded frantic. “What if they killed him Ford?!” The sounds of crashing and clanking began, sounding like Stan was throwing everything around to find Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stanley, you have to calm down!” Ford yelled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How can I be calm?! Those chi-children were under our protection Ford!” Stan’s voice cracked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know! I told them to stay in their room, let’s check there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should have stayed here, protected them here!” Stan muttered miserably. Racing feet met the door and Mabel looked back to see her uncles staring in at her, one with a look of confusion, the other with dreadful understanding. “MABEL?! But you were-, I saw her on that boat!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dipper was dressed as Mabel, he went to the gala for her,” Ford gasped out, running to Mabel to untie her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel spit out the gag as soon as she could and wrapped her arms around her uncle Ford’s neck. “They took him! They were obviously after me but he pretended and they took him!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So Dipper . . . is. . ?” Stan’s face crumbled. For a moment he hoped he was having a terrible walking nightmare and he had both of his children safe and sound somewhere in the house. But he knew it wasn’t true. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Taken,” Ford confirmed, holding Mabel as she cried for the loss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who?!” Stan asked angrily, hitting a wall. “Who are these pirates?! WHO TOOK OUR BOY?” He demanded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have an idea,” Ford told them. “It took me a while to remember but that horrid Gideon kid gave Dipper this necklace with a triangle charm,” Ford explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I saw it, when they saw him wearing it they completely stopped caring about me,” Mabel confirmed her uncle's greatest fear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then the great Cipher has him now, for what purpose I can only guess that damn Gleeful is involved!” Ford hissed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is the great Cipher?” Mabel asked, knowing it sounded horrible. What fate had she unknowingly cast her brother into?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Cipher of the high seas. He’s a corsair, scourge of the 7 seas! I knew him when he was a boy, I tried to steer him to at least the life of a privateer but he was consumed by the buccaneers sinful, lustful ways,” Ford shook his head. “He’s a vicious man, and he promised great pain to our family when he found out where my loyalties lied.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A corsair?” Mabel asked, fresh tears of pure fear for her brother running down her face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A pirate from the Mediterranean, no one knows where he came from before that,” Ford hung his head, his mind replaying the day he let the boy live and wishing he hadn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And he’s that wicked? Can’t we set up a par-parley? We have money! We could buy Dipper’s freedom, couldn’t we?” Mabel asked, hoping against everything for a favorable answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If this is revenge, most likely not. But if someone, or the Gleeful kid, paid for you and Dipper got mistaken for you then they are out a payday. If we can match the price then yes, we could buy him back.” Ford sprung up, looking like he was forming a plan. “Stan! We'll set sail with the tide, I’ll make arrangements for Mabel to be sent inland at a friend's estate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait! No!” Mabel jumped up. “I’m coming too! They took him because I made him go to the gala for me!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel, you are a lady!” Stan gasped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s my brother! Lady or not, I’m coming with you!” Mabel argued. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel, no sea man is going to be able to focus on your brother with you around! Just let us handle this, we can’t have a little lady on board the Stan O’ War,” Stan explained and Mabel knew it was true. Her, in all those beautiful gowns, on a warship would be disastrous. The men wouldn't focus and the Stan’s would have to guard her day and night. “We’re sorry Mabel, but women on a warship need to be strong, have some skill to protect themselves!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel pressed her nails into her palm, hating that he was right. She had no skill worthy of a ship. Then her eyes lingered to Dipper’s side of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But don’t Pines stick together?” Mabel stomped with both feet. Then Dippers trunks laden with her own dresses gave her an idea. “What if I did not look like a lady?” She asked slyly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Ford gapped, pausing from his mumbled planning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m saying that, if you can go an entire night not realizing you were dancing with Dipper in a dress, then a boat full of strangers could believe I am a young lord looking for his sister!” Mabel narrowed her eyes when boy men blushed in offense and stammered at her mere suggestion. “No doubt word of my kidnapping has already swarmed the Gulf uncles! Would you rather I dress as His Lordship Mason Pines, or England find out that from time to time the Pines family heir cross dresses?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her uncles faces both paled as they realized how correct she was. People had seen </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lady</span>
  </em>
  <span> Pines led through town in the same dress </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>had gone to the gala in by pirates. If Mabel was suddenly alright, and Dipper lost to pirates, oh court would tear them apart! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pack a bag,” Ford sighed. “Take nothing that would out you as a girl, we will have to acquire a binding for your-,” Ford coughed, stopping himself from indicating to her breasts. They were already very small, but would be notable in a man’s shirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ford, you can’t really be thinking about this!” Stan yelled but was caught by Mabel’s puppy dog stare. He groaned, giving in. “Alright but lady or not, I’m having someone teach you to fight. If we go after the Cipher, I will not have her defenseless!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel grinned and immediately turned to ramsack her brother's trunks for an outfit, and she knew exactly the one! The outfit she had made him for the journey over, he had never worn for some reason. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to watch me change?” Mabel asked when she turned back to see them still watching her with concern. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both jumped, incoherent stammering as the two jumped over each other to exit the room before she changed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel felt hope swell in her chest. “I’m coming for you Dipper, don’t you worry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_______________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper gasped awake and immediately regretted it when his ribs creaked in agony. He pulled back the dress a bit to see a large black and blue bruise along the wooden stirrups where the corset pressed against his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow,” Dipper grimaced, letting the dress off back in place. He carefully sat up and looked around the cabin, it was depressing to realize that it had all been real. The gala, the pirate attack, the kidnapping. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cabin was in a word: garish. Trinkets and other people’s keepsakes that had been stolen decorating the walls and glassed in shelves. Dipper stood on weak legs and wiggled his dried blood covered toes in the red carpeting. His dress was covered in blood and dirt on the edges of his skirts, and he felt like his face was heavy from the makeup, combined with his sweat it had now turned to grease. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper walked over to a mirror first, sleepiness aside he remembered he needed to keep up this act for a while yet. His wig was ascue, the pins holding it caused the thing to become ratty and tangled. The flowers that had decorated it now dead and a crumbled mess in the hair, on his shoulders, and on the bed. Evidence that he had slept restlessly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper plunked the hair pins out diligently, grabbing a nearby brush to deal with the tangles all while fighting to keep the monstrosity on his head. He didn’t want anyone coming in and catching him without the thing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he worked he noted that the cabin had, in fact, been removed of anything he could use as a weapon. The shelves locked tight, and the room had everything bolted down bigger than his arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One circular wall was curtained in a fine red velvet trimmed with gold triangles, obviously covering the large glass window most ships had. The wooden four post bed was fit for a king, Dipper imagined it was once in a ship under the king's name, if the scratched out family crests were any marker. The sheets were a golden silk, fine and well made. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It would seem anything personal, or ruinable by an angry kidnapped woman had been removed. Most everything left seemed well used and lived in but somehow he could feel by the coldness of the room that he captain had not returned to sleep here; good. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once his wig had been brushed out Dipper left it down, uncaring that it was a sign that he was a loose woman. Mostly because he was no woman. He took to the basin of water, cleaning his face with the readied rag and soap, giving his arms a good wipe off as well. His mother would have his hide for not undressing fully to wash up but he simply couldn’t risk it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he was makeup free Dipper looked back to the mirror, feeling just a bit like himself again, even without pants. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To him he looked like a man wearing a wig and a tarnished dress without his face made up, and fearing the pirates would see the same, Dipper did his best to replicate his sister's work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was afraid to do too much and look like a prostitute, so the work was light and not near as fine as it was the night before but not half bad. Once again he looked like the perfect little lady. Well almost, he was still stained with blood with his hair down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper shook off the dead plant, letting it dirty the floor uncaringly and moved to the curtains to open them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun was only just peeking up over the horizon, explaining his exhaustion. He must have only slept a few hours. It also meant they were heading south by the position of the rising sun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper had only begun to wonder if they expected him to sit here quietly until they reached the ‘buyer’, when a knock sounded at the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um,” Dipper stalled when whoever knocked waited for permission to enter. “Enter?” Dipper rolled his eyes when the tall black haired pirate opened the door. This man again! “If it isn’t the gentleman pirate,” Dipper smirked at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gentleman pir-? Nevermind, the captain is allowing you on deck as long as you stay out of the way,” Strange told the girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, he’s allowing me? Pray, forgive me that I hold no gratitude in my tone,” Dipper folded his arms, holding in a wince of pain from the bruising of his ribs. Venom dropped from his tongue. “How’s your nose, gentleman pirate?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper smirked when the man’s eyes widened a fraction from the unafraid disrespect he was showing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, no break. Although I recognize that you were hoping for a different answer,” Strange's eyes narrowed. He didn’t know how to feel about this girl, she looked just like the kind Mabel, but she lacked Mabel’s large enthusiastic smile. “You are very different from your sister.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s what happens when you are seperate people,” Dipper glared, hating that the pirate was talking about his sister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Indeed,” Strange muttered. He shook his head, clearing away the mystery of how two twin sisters could end up so different when raised exactly the same. “There is some food for you as well,” he added hoping to entice the girl out. Bill has made it sound like he couldn’t care less if the girl came on deck but Strange knew the man was intrigued and wanted to interact with the girl a bit more. Figure out the mystery, neither man could ever resist a mystery. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sighed, sounding an odd combination of upset and bored. “Fine, I will go aboard.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper flipped his wig hair over his shoulder and took his shirts to not trip as he walked over to the door. “But don’t not expect me to be civil,” Dipper hissed as he passed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t dare,” Strange smirked, liking the girl's fire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper marched himself out of the cabin and into the captain's office. Maps, star charts, choreography, and a large globe next to a desk; nothing too special beyond the ships Jolly Roger hung up proudly. It was a triangle with an eye, an ‘x’ sitting behind it, looking like a portal to Hell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pirate opened the door for Dipper, and he walked through with a head held high. He tripped once and felt something hard hit his bare toes, like something was sewn into the lining. Dipper put that aside for now as he entered the shining morning sunlight to see the crew already about their jobs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Men scrubbing down the deck, laughing, and yelling as bodies everywhere tied off ropes, checked the sails, or carried boxes of cargo to and fro. It was almost exciting to be back in the sailing environment. Something about it all called to Dipper but he refused to show it while prisoner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah! Pinetree, glad to see you up and about!” Dipper looked up to see the captain hanging over the railing of the quarterdeck above him. He still had the devil's own smile slapped on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Captain, I’m remiss to realize I don’t know your name,” Dipper spoke back. “I would like a word with you and it would be rude to ask without a name to place your face.” Dipper, even though he’d just promised hostility, chose to speak kindly. He was guessing it was a few shillings sewn into the dress, and they gave him an idea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did I not tell you?” Bill contemplated, swinging himself up to sit on the railing. “My apologies Miss, the name be William Cipher. Most call me Bill, but you may continue to call me Captain.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper batted the raveonettes hand away from him and stomped his way to the stairs and then up to the helm, uncaring if he was allowed or not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine then, Captain William, I would like to make a request of you,” Dipper kept his voice strong, even as the pirate captain looked back at him from his seating position. His eyes looked insane, glimmering with a bloody interest that frightened Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You wish to have an accord, Pinetree?” Bill asked, his grin widening at the resolve in those brown eyes. “What do you want?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d like a dagger,” Dipper stayed plainly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad almost fell over in surprise as he’d moved to join the discussion, Bill almost laughed his ass off the railing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill jumped off the railing, and approached the girl. He noted her blush and step back but after a moment she steeled her resolve and didn’t back away anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And why should I give you one?” Bill pulled a dagger from his belt, playing with it for the show of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“From what you told me last night, there seems to be no love lost for the man paying you to deliver me, so I was hoping you wouldn’t care if I slit his throat,” Dipper declared boldly. Bill and him held eyes for a moment, Bill cocked a hip as he observed that in those eyes murder was definitely an option. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like you kid,” Bill chuckled and held up the dagger. The girl reached for it but he pulled it back from her. “But everything comes at a price.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper hardened his glare. “And I’m prepared to pay,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And how do you expect to do that?” Tad cut into the conversation, a little blow away by the sexual undertone of their conversation and body language. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper backed up a bit. “Sir, may I use that dagger a moment?” He held up a hand, waiting for the dagger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill was interested enough to give a little smile and hand the girl the dagger. “Don’t cut yourself now Pinetree.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper took the dagger and dragged up his top skirt, not wasting a moment at slashing the fabric open. He shook out ten shillings hidden in the lining, much to the rising surprise of both men. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have ten shillings, so may I keep the dagger?” Dipper asked with a mockery of a pleasant smile on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill couldn't help the robust, mad, laughter that left his mouth. He stretched back, his hat falling off as he threw his head back to face the sky. This girl was hilarious! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once Bill had a grip on himself again he picked his hat up and placed it back on his head. “Keep the dagger,” he snatched the shillings and whistled a cheery tune as he abandoned the quarterdeck. He gave a shout to the pink haired woman to take the helm as he returned to his office. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad hummed in his throat. “Odd,” he muttered. Then he shook his head. “Breakfast, milady?” Tad turned to the girl who was staring at him with a frightening hostility. Normally he wouldn’t have cared but Bill had just given her a bloody enchanted blade! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On your lead, gentleman pirate,” Dipper gestured for him to take the lead, mostly because he didn’t know where breakfast was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Strange,” Tad corrected her. “My name be Tad Strange, first mate of The Rift.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Appropriate, as I find you a tad strange,” Dipper startled, the words having just slipped out. The pirate smiled slightly, the joke had been bad but not misplaced. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Charming Miss Pines, very charming,” Tad chuckled as he began the journey to the galley with the girl at his side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_______________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill bit his thumb nail, wondering what the hell was wrong with him! He gave that little girl his fire knife, the Gypsy relic he’d risked his life to steal, and he’d just given it to a brown eyed girl for ten useless shillings! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She has definitely cursed me!” Bill growled, kicking his desk. The realization of what he’d done, and the anger at himself for doing it had only come once he’d sat down at his desk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And it wasn’t just the knife either. It was how he’d planned to sleep in his own bed, until he’d met her. It wouldn’t have been a big deal to share his bed with a girl, it was only one night but then he’d felt those </span>
  <em>
    <span>stirrings</span>
  </em>
  <span> for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t like women! What the hell is going on here?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re tired,” Bill jerked to see Tad leaning against the doorway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where’s the girl?” Bill asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I left her at the tables, Py is watching her.” Tad explained, walking in to stand in front of his desk. “You slept with the crew last night, they're all talking about it. Whatever is happening between you and that girl, is just you being tired.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And why are you diagnosing me Strange?” Bill huffed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just trying to get ahead of that brain of yours, before you work yourself in a frenzy and run us aground again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“One time!” Bill slammed a hand against his desk. “That was one time!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just take a caulk, we’ve got some time before the exchange,” Tad told his captain wearily to go to sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Bill sighed, exasperated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel almost cried as she looked into the mirror. She looked exactly like Dipper in his brown breeches, white tunic, and the pink coat she had made for him. She had tied her hair back in the tightest braid she had ever done and tucked it all under her shirt. Stan had trimmed her hair to make it seem her hair was short before placing a sailors hat on her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her face was clean of any makeup, and her shoes polished square toed boots. She was just any other boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel straightened her shoulders and smiled at the mirror, it was like facing her brother again and she couldn’t help how amazingly relieving it felt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mab-Mason,” Stan stepped into the room, adjusting to call her Mason even when alone just to get into the swing of it all. “Are you ready to go? The tide is with us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They hadn’t been able to head out last night, morning was the quickest her uncles could arrange. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! Let’s go get my br-,” she paused, readjusted herself and spoke again. “Let’s get my sister.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s a good child,” Stan grinned. “Come on, I have to introduce you to your sword fighting teacher.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel grinned, despite everything she was very excited to learn to fight!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>__________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper paced the stern behind the pink haired woman, tugging at the golden choker on his neck. It hadn’t taken him long to realize it wouldn’t come off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with you?” The woman asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A white haired jackanape put this on me and I swear I can feel his fingers still!” Dipper growled. “Where is the damn clasp! I need this off!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica paused, looking back at the girl who was struggling to get the choker off. Pyronica knew it wouldn’t be able to come off, not until Captain Bill released it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If a man gave me something like that, I'd marry him,” Pyronica said. She didn’t really know why she was saying it but she just felt like putting in an effort for the girl to find some happiness. The man that put that on was her buyer, if she hated him then she’d never be happy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then you obviously haven’t met Gideon Gleeful!” The girl snapped. “A scrub of a man! A lobcock! His daddy bought him his command and he thinks he can bully everyone to get what he wants!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Such words, I had no idea that swearing like a sailor wasn’t only reserved for us folk,” Pyronica laughed woodenly. On the inside she grew worried, over the last few hours of sailing the girl had shown more of that backbone that had gained Pyronica’s respect back during her capture. She couldn’t help it, the girl was quick witted, sharp, and intriguing! How could they give a gem like her to such a dull witted man? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As your captain said: this is not a property of England,” the girl bit out. “So I don’t see why I must uphold my tongue, especially while in company such as yours.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>See? This was not a conversation one gave up for a few coins. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Quite right,” Pyronica grinned, looking back at the girl, still yanking on the choker with an endless vigor. “Your sister-,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do not speak of my sister!” Dipper cut her off. “The fact that she dallied with pirates is already unsettling enough without you folk being so familiar with her.” Dipper was sick of them bringing her up like they were all friends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Considering I’m one of the captures, not the captured, I think I’ll ask whatever I damn well please,” the pink haired pirate, he’d learned was named Pyronica, said without any malice. Dipper scrunched up his face, knowing he really couldn’t stop them from doing anything. “So your sister, she was all smiles and fanciful questions when I met her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like Mabel,” Dipper responded in a jaded tone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what happened to you? Miss snippy retorts, and sailors curses!” Pyronica laughed out the question. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill had emerged from his cabin in time to hear the interesting conversation happening above him, Tad, who had come to wake Bill, was also looking curious about the answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper sighed. “Possibly because she had been there by choice but I am your prisoner. I find that most aren’t exactly happy after a knife has been held to their throat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica chuckled at him. “Nah, there is something different about you two. Come on, what do you have to lose telling me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper paused, he knew the reason was most simply that he was a man, so they had been raised differently but he couldn’t exactly tell this woman that! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel was born first,” Dipper began with a story that he believed would get this line of questioning to stop. “She’d been strong and healthy, but I was born with my eyes open and my lips blue; near dead at the beginning of life.” Dipper paused, sensing the woman looking over at him. He let the choker go and leaned against the railing, looking out at the open sea. “No one really knows, everyone had stories but none confirmed, about what was wrong with me, or even how I got better. My parents were very protective of me because of that, Mabel was allowed to play and run about and I was forced to stay indoors.” A sad laugh left Dippers lips. “Mabel once compared me to a princess locked in a tower. So I suppose we hold a very different outlook on life because she got to experience a world of color, while I was raised in a glorified cell.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper let out a breath, his voice had wavered at the end. He hadn’t thought about all that in a long time, his forced quarantine had ended with the beginnings of puberty. Then even after puberty he hadn’t been allowed many freedoms, only leaving occasionally to shadow his father at work, or meet with other lords, and every once and awhile presenting Mabel at a party. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill tipped his chin up. Such a sad story, he held little pity since he knew the girl's imprisonment would have been cushy, and she would have been well taken care of. But still, it was no wonder the girl was filled with quipping remarks being locked up most of her young life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That just sounds like you were perpetually bored,” Pyronica stated above him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose so,” Dipper agreed dully. “Mabel and I used to switch when we were young, so I could experience the fun she did. No one could tell us apart at all,” Dipper smiled at the memory, his mother always used to narrow her eyes like she suspected what game was afoot but never said anything. She didn’t argee that Dipper needed to be kept under lock and key, so she’d allowed his and Mabel’s trickery. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad felt an inclination that he was forgetting something as the girls claim that the sisters routinely switched places. He could have sworn that he was missing something here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“SAIL, HO!” A call yelled from the crows nest, Dipper jumped and immediately checked the dagger he’d hidden in his shirts. It was time to find out who had the gall to pay to have a marchioness kidnapped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All hand hoy!” Bill yelled once he’d snapped out of his trance he’d been placed in while listening to the girl and Pyronica talk. The nap had not helped. He still felt the stirrings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill moved quickly to take the helm from Pyronica, ignoring her whispered remark about the rudeness of eavesdropping. “Bring a spring upon ‘er and take her in on the broadside!” Bill called to his crew as the navel ship also maneuvered to the broadside so they could lower the gangplank. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Strange, have Teeth and Keyhole ready the cannons in case our landlubber friend is also a hornswaggle,” Bill told Tad quietly so he wouldn’t be overheard. “And tell the crew to keep their boots on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think he’ll try to cheat us?” Tad asked in surprise. He didn’t think much of the navel captain they were meeting but didn’t think him dumb enough try and double cross </span>
  <em>
    <span>the Cipher </span>
  </em>
  <span>of the high seas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just be ready to run a shot across the bow in case he’s as brainless as he is charmless,” Bill muttered. “ANCHORS AWAY!” Bill shouted to the crew, smiling secretly to himself. He wasn’t called the Cipher of the high seas for nothing, his crew knew his codes well. He didn’t ever say ‘anchors away’, he said ‘drop the anchor’, it was his way of easing the other ships captain while telling his men to be ready to attack in a moment's notice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Captain William, your men didn’t drop the anchor,” The girl spoke up, confusion twisting her brow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it Pinetree,” Bill grinned back at her. He watched the gangplank be lowered and it was time to make the trade. “Milady,” Bill offered his elbow, mocking and a sly mischief in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are enjoying this,” Dipper hissed, taking the man’s arm mostly because he couldn’t do much else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not every day a pirate gets to walk a noble woman down the aisle!” He grinned, leading Dipper towards the gangplank. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And how many weddings have you seen where the bride stabs the groom to death?” Dipper asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill laughed, liking the spunk the girl showed. “I believe this will be the first I’ve seen ending in so much blood,” Bill hummed. “But how do you expect to get back to shore if you kill a naval captain?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose I’ll-, wait, naval captain?!” Dipper demanded before the voice of annoyance incarnate spoke up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sugar plum! I’m so glad you’ve arrived!” Dipper shuddered, pure rage pumping through him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gideon,” Dipper hissed with disgust and hatred. “Godsbeard, I should have known.” Dipper looked at the ungodly set up on his ship, </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Telepathy Star</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The white haired man was wearing a white tux, flowers and an arch had been set up on the naval deck and all the soldiers were dressed in formal fashion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s really pulled out all the stops,” Bill observed whispering quietly to the girl on the other side of the gang plank. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s mad,” Dipper gasped, absolutely stunned by his anger and awe at the sheer stupidity of the situation. “Absolutely deranged, lunacy I tell you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The man is definitely moonstruck,” Tad said as he joined them on the gangplank. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That would explain the hair,” Dipper quipped causing both men to snicker. The mirth encouraged Dipper, he’d later assume it was because he’d never had friends before, so making someone else laugh by his own words had loosened his tongue. “I’d never trust a man whose hair is bigger than his head, I think that’s where the nuttiness hides.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sugar plum?! Are you ignoring me?” Gideon yelled over the distance between the ships, his red face just made the laughter from Strange and Bill grow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re funny Pinetree,” Bill calmed himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica finally joined them and the four walked across the gangplank together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr Gleeful,” Dipper glowered. “How did I not guess that only you were unhinged enough to try and abduct a marchioness? And cowardly enough not to do it yourself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill let off a snort, Pyronica and Tad both holding in mirth as well, this girl was just too much! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh sugar plum! You can drop the act now,” Gideon assured him. “I can finally take you away from your family that's trying to keep us apart! I’ve got a priest and a wedding dress waiting for you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What a blimey fool,” Pyronica tittered into her hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr Gleeful! What on God's green Earth did you hope to achieve?!” Dipper stomped forward towards the man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well darling, I believe that is obvious! Marriage!” Gideon smiled brightly, putting out his hand for Dipper to take. Dipper was appalled, upset for his family, himself, and mostly his sister. He reached back and gripped the dagger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You crazy half arse!” Dipper screeched slashing at the man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes grew wide as he leapt back. “Ghost eyes!” He squeaked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A hulking navy man jumped forward, twisting the knife out of Dippers hand and dragging him against his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have been so violent and moody since the gala!” Gideon gasped in disbelief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad suddenly realized what he’d been missing. “Ey’ Captain?” He whispered as he watched the girl kick and struggle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just remembered something Mabel told me,” he whispered. “She said she had to get her twin to fill in for her at a party to meet with me at that tavern.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does that mean we got the wrong girl?” Pyronica joined in with a whisper as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Most definitely,” Bill hummed. This was sure to be entertaining. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper tried to kick the navy sailor in the shins, screaming profanities. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel! This is unlike you!” Gideon stomped, enraged by her behavior. Bill sucked in a breath, that did in fact prove they’d kidnapped the wrong girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper stilled, a laugh bubbling up his throat. He couldn’t contain it, it was ridiculous! Every bit of this situation was ridiculous! He burst, uproarious mad cackling leaving his lips, he even cried a bit from how painfully he laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh god I am convulsing!” Dipper crowed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is the meaning of this!?” Gideon demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper caught his breath. “I just find it hilarious, this situation Mr Gleeful,” Dipper looked up at him with a smirk. “How much did you promise these pirates to kidnap Mabel Pines?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gideon blinked in confusion. “Why are you speaking in the third?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper burst again. “You still think I’m Mabel!” He gasped out between breaths, kicking his feet. “You chased me, and begged for a dance, even wrapped this gaudy necklace around my throat! Not once realizing that you were talking to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> twin!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pirates began to snort, finding it quite hilarious as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell me Gideon,” Dipper began letting his voice drop into his real tone. Bill's eyes snapped up, his heart beating wildly. “How does a man who claims to love my sister not realize he’s drooling over her brother?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gideon’s face paled, then reddened in rage. He marched over to Dipper who was still held back by Ghost Eyes and ripped off the wig. “Mason Pines?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill felt a grin stretch across his face as he saw the boy as if for the first time. He looked better with his hair short! Honestly he was delighted by the fact that he now knew he wasn’t attracted to a girl, just a boy in a dress. Seems his body could tell a man from a woman better than his brain. Now to figure out how to get him back on the ship. Pyronica and Tad both looked to Bill, silently asking him what he wanted them to do. He gestured for them to be ready but to wait. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The one and only,” Dipper giggled in Gideon’s face, almost high on the adrenaline of the situation. “And even if you kill me now, know that my family will find out what you’ve done Gideon! You’ll be hanged for treason against the crown! Did you really think you could get away with kidnapping and forcing a blood royal to marry you?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gideon growled in his throat. “She would have learned to love me! No one would ever have to know until she was content in her new life with me!” Bill had to place a hand on Tad’s shoulder to keep him from attacking the naval captain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You damn fool! You will never have my sister!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would bet with you having been kidnapped by pirates your uncles have left her all alone,” Gideon grinned madly. “With her brother dead I bet you she’ll need a shoulder to cry on!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill silently took his gun when the young captain said the word ‘dead’. No one was killing Pinetree before he got a taste. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ha!” Dipper mocked him, no fear for his life or maybe just beyond it. “Mabel’s probably been moved inland by now, her location kept a secret to anyone outside the family. Part of our families safety codes should a twin go missing! Do you know how many times people have kidnapped the twins in my family for witchery, or new aged science experiments?” Dipper swung his feet, trying to dislodge himself still. “There was once a killer that collected twins, I believe it was around that time we developed a way to keep at least one safe should the other be taken. You will never find her!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We belong together!” Gideon cried. “you will tell me where she is!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think I know?” Dipper gave him a demeaning look. “They would be terrible safety precautions if potential victims knew the safe houses. But I guarantee you will never find it before the crown sends five man o’ wars to guard her passage back to England.” Dipper said with triumph filling his voice. “Be glad you got me Gideon, Mabel would have made you a eunuch on your wedding night if you’d tried to force her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kill this wretch!” Gideon ordered, beyond furious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now hold it right there,” Bill interrupted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut it pirate!” Gideon turned on the other captain in fury. “You brought me the wrong twin! I should kill you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill raised a brow, trying not to laugh at being threatened by a toothless welp. “I brought you exactly what I was paid too. I gave you an enchanted necklace, told you to place it on who you desired, and do you see his neck?” Bill walked forward, uncaring of the guns pointed at him. He grabbed the choker and yanked it up to prove a point. “I believe that this is that necklace.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gideon stuttered our excuses before just deciding to blame Dipper. “He tricked me!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s neither here nor there, I brought you what you paid for so I’d like my money. And since it seems you don’t want the boy, I think I have a better idea of what to do with him besides filling him with holes,” Bill explained as he turned back to stare at the boy, who seemed to understand exactly what Bill was doing based on the way his face paled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And what idea is that?” Gideon ground his teeth as he asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Give him back to me,” Bill said simply, not taking his eyes off of the boy as he now knew him to be. “My bed has been quite cold as of late, I believe he’d help to warm it up.” Dipper pulled his head back in horror. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You-your a sodomite?!” Gideon gasped in horror, a few guns cocking behind them threateningly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve paid to kidnap a marchioness, I prefer a man’s company, we’d both hang little Giddy. Don’t act so high and mighty,” Bill drawled, rolling his eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather die than be touched by you pirate!” Dipper thrashed when the pirate tried to touch his cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill made a sound in his throat, that sounded like an evil chuckle. “Not the best thing you could have said,” Bill tsked lowly to him, so only he could hear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Gideon perked up. “I suppose then giving you to the pirate to live on as his unwilling bed partner would be a fate worse than death.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gideon was grinning now and Dipper cursed himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take him, but only on the condition that the English never find him,” Gideon bargained. “I’ll even give you the payment as long as Mason Pines is never heard by polite society again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like we have an accord,” Bill turned away to shake hands with the naval captain, absolutely giddy that he’d found such a nice specimen and managed to keep him without much of a fight. “Might I give a word of warning,” Bill tightened his hold on Gideons hand, keeping him close. “Loose lips, sink ships,” he indicated towards the bulk of crew members, many loyal Englishmen. “But dead men tell no tales.” Bill smiled pleasantly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gideon side eyed his crew. “I’ll keep that under advisement.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be careful, or the crown will know what I know. That you captain Gleeful are going on account.” The boy's eyes widened and Bill felt a bit of humor that he could be surprised. It wasn’t hard to spot when another sailor was making moves to become a pirate. He nodded back to Tad and Pyronica. “Py, deal with our coin. Strange, take my loot back aboard.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye aye captain!” They both responded. Strange approached Dipper and he began to scream and cuss at him. Threatening him to stay away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is going to be a lot easier if you just give in Mason,” Tad told him genuinely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! I said it before and I’ll say it again, I am no man’s whore!” Dipper shrieked, kicking at the man to get away from him. The man holding him, Ghost Eyes, threw him at the pirate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Careful with Captain Bill’s property!” Strange hissed at the navy soldier, making the small brunette scream something that sounded like a retort. He pulled the boy against his chest, holding him as still as possible with his intense thrashing he was doing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me go!” Dipper screeched on repeat as he was dragged back over the gangplank. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We get to keep him then!” Pyronica happily began collecting the boxes of coin that had been put aside for them. She was very glad about this development, she liked the kid! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes Py, Pinetree will be with us for a very long time,” Bill preened, delighted with himself. He had liked Pinetree intellectually when he was a girl, even felt stirring, but as a boy those stirrings had become hot blooded passion that he was excited to explore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill was a man that took what he could find, and finding a boy just old enough not to anger other pirates, who was small, pretty, intelligent, and brave? That was a gift from the sea herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the coin and his Pinetree were aboard, and Bill had retrieved his dagger, Bill retreated back to his ship. He didn’t give the struggling and screaming boy even a bare glance as he spouted off orders to get them the hell away from that ship before that crazy captain changed his mind. He’d rather not get bloody massacring them at the moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill continued to ignore the boy as he was passed around to whichever crewmate was free in any given moment. Bill refused to give him attention until he stopped screaming and fighting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took a good hour before the naval sails were beyond the horizon and Pinetree had exhausted himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Py, take the helm!” Bill called, as he found Amorphous Shape was the crewman currently keeping his Pinetree from throwing himself over the side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt woozy, after screaming for so long and having been passed from person to person like some sadist game of catch it was understandable. He’d only just stopped yelling for freedom, only because his throat would no longer allow it, when the captain left the helm to approach him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare touch me! You sinful pirate!” Dipper growled through his scratched up throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm,” Bill leered crookedly at the boy, appraising him. He didn’t look afraid at first glance but Bill had a keen eye and could see his legs shaking. He looked pissed off, and Bill would need to break that down just a bit before he took him to bed. His make up was smeared now, but Bill could see nibs skin was naturally creamy and smooth. He was small, with fluffy hair, and beautiful big eyes. He hadn’t cared about any of this before he knew the boy's true gender. He was very alluring even while in a dress. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What say you mates?” Bill yelled out to the crew. “How should we punish our little son of a biscuit eater for daring to mislead us?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Punish?!” Dipper squaked. “I have no obligations to be honest with you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s where you are wrong,” Bill patted his head patronizingly. “From the moment you stepped on this ship, you became mine. It’s not nice for you to lie to your captain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are not my captain!” Dipper hissed, giving him an icy look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill caressed the boy with his eye as he just grinned wider. “Let’s see how you feel about that issue tonight, hm?” Bill turned away, skipping a jig with his feet from the excitement he felt. He looked up and around his crew, quietly waiting for his orders. “Hang ‘em from the yardarm!” The crew cheered. “Let’s see how he feels after a day in the sun without food and water!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt his eyes widen in horror as he was dragged to the mast and heaved up. They tied his hands around the mast and then his body with a thick, strong rope. Wood dug into his skin and he groaned in pain as it put pressure on his bruises. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry kid, I warned you,” Tad said to the young man as he stood with Bill under the mast to watch him get strung up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I swear to god, I’m going to kill you all!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica giggled madly at him. “You're on the Rift kid! Gods abandoned you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The crew laughed and whooped, having fun at his expense, the captain waved at him, giving a mock bow, before tapping his feet and borderline dancing away, whistling a haunting tune as he went. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper hung his head as they slowly dispersed and went back to their jobs. He could barely breathe, his ribs ached, and he truly did feel as if god had abandoned him. Finally Dipper just began to sob, crying his heart out for the mess that had become his life. He had really been counting on Gideon to kill him before he was taken advantage of by a pirate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They could have at least taken this damn corset off me,” Dipper sighed, looking up at the sun, not even halfway through its journey through the sky. It was going to be a very long day. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A deal is struck</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m having a lot of fun researching pirates. One song that keeps coming to my head while writing this is ‘my heart I surrender’ by I Prevail. It’s a great song and I think really goes well with the theme im slowly building. And I hope you all get the hints that the crew of the Rift aren’t exactly all human that I left in this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Mason, I’d like to introduce you to your swordplay instructor, Wendy Corduroy,” Stan brought Mabel aboard and immediately brought her to another woman. She had striking red hair, tied up in a green bandana, she wore the Pines company uniform in a sloppy and unkempt manner. She was gorgeous despite it, tanned skin and dark freckles with rare green eyes. “She’s the best in the caribbean!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel felt surprised that the first person she would meet on her uncle's ship would be a woman, after how much her uncles argued about letting herself on the journey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Corduroy,” Mabel gave her a bow, she almost curtsied out of habit but managed to catch herself. She already had run into a few problems while pretending to be a boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She kept waiting for someone to offer an elbow before moving, a few times she had waited for her uncles to open her door while in public. Habit was a hard thing to break. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No arguing about a woman being your teacher?” The girl asked with a cocky smirk and a friendly disposition. “Mr Pines, you were right about him being smart eh?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel beamed, taking the compliment even if she knew it was for Dipper. “I’m just excited to learn, I've never been allowed to hold a sword before!” Mabel grinned, picturing herself leaping onto the pirate ship and fighting them off all by herself. She didn’t worry about what she’d said, considering her family treated Dipper like a broken nail would kill him since they were children. Neither of them had been allowed weapons before, so it wasn’t odd to say that while pretending to be Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will leave he-him with you, Wendy. I have a ship to get sailing,” Stan said, already heading off to meet Ford at the helm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I get the feeling that you’ve been relegated to nanny, Miss Corduroy,” Mabel sighed as she watched her uncles begin fighting about which direction they should ship off in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nanny with a purpose,” Wendy laughed. “Let’s get you a practice sword, and piss off with the ‘Miss Corduroy’ crap, it’s Wendy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No one had ever spoken so plainly to Mabel before, and she was loving it! Being a man was a grand experience!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel walked with Wendy deeper into the ship, towards the armory. “So not to be rude, but I was under the impression that women weren’t normally hired on ships.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” she nodded. “Polite society wouldn't have me, my father was a pirate, raised me and my brothers to be as well. When I left that life behind Mr Pines was very understanding, said if I could protect myself and do good work then he had no problem with me on board.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you protect yourself?” Mabel asked more out of wanting to know if she would be able to teach her to also protect herself, than any doubting of the woman’s abilities. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy seemed to understand what Mabel was truly asking and smiled down at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll have you using a sword better than any navy man in a week!” She boasted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure I could get no better instruction for how to go up against pirates than a former pirate,” Mabel happily agreed. She wasn’t concerned about the knowledge that the woman had once lived on a pirate ship, in fact she was intrigued. She wanted to ask more about what life as a pirate was like and especially what she knew of the Cipher. She needed to know how much danger Dipper was in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_______________________________________________________</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper's skin felt crisp and hot, his only relief the inconsistent spray of the ocean. It had been hours since he’d been tied up to the mast, his eyes were red from crying, his throat raw from screaming, and his creamy white skin was turning a itchy red color where it was exposed. The worst of it all was with every passing second the combination of the ropes and the barely loosened corset stole his ability to breath. Dark spots were starting to appear in his vision. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few times a member of the crew had tried to talk to him, at first he’d snapped back with creative insults but as the time had ticked by pure exhaustion had taken away his ability to massacre with words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now he just slumped against the ropes holding him up, contemplating how everything went so wrong. He felt like an idiot for allowing pity to make a decision for him, he should have never given Gideon the benefit of doubt and accepted the stupid necklace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only thing he wouldn’t ever take back was going to the gala in Mabel’s place, if he hadn’t Mabel would have been taken by pirates and sold off to Gideon. At least she was safe, if there was any silver lining, it was that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wished he’d kept up the Mabel act until the pirate had left, he’d most likely be dead but he also wouldn’t be tied to a mast and baking under the sun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m curious, boy,” the man up in the crows nest called down to him. “What makes a boy want to pretend to be a woman, are ye touched in the head?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper pulled his heavy head up and glared at the man before just letting his head drop, determined to ignore them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, ‘tis not like you're going anywhere. We all want to know how we came to capture a lad pretending to be a lassie!” He argued, jumping from the crows nest. He maneuvered and swung around the ropes like his bones were flexible, ending up reclined nonchalantly in front of Dipper. “If you’re reason is good, you’ll get made fun of less, probably.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper scoffed, refusing to lift his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on Mason,” the man whined. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dipper,” He grumbled. It was a small thing but he hated his real name. It was a symbol of how his family treated their twins like they were interchangeable. It caused his uncles to be on bad terms for decades, the only reason him and his sister hadn’t suffered the same feeling of resentment was the fact that they were different genders. It allowed them to become their own people. His grandfather had once said it was a shame Dipper didn’t have a useful body double since Mabel had been born a girl, he even blamed Dipper’s mother for it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” The man asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My name is Dipper, not Mason,” Dipper hissed with as much venom that he could muster, which frankly wasn’t a lot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got an awful amount of identity’s kid,” Tad called from below the two. Dipper glared, huffed again and turned his head to the side. “Are you trying to undervalue yourself? Because that ship sailed.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper wiggled uncomfortably, wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. There was no sense in talking with pirates. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am doing no such thing sir, while I was born Mason Pines, only polite society calls me Mason outside of my friends and family.” Dipper paused and looked the man in the eye, staring down at him quite literally. “And while you people are neither friends nor family, you also are not polite society. So I see no reason to endure being addressed by a name I detest.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Detest, a strong word that,” the rubber boned pirate muttered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That it is, why the dislike of your own name?” Tad followed up the questioning from the base of the mast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper forced back a cough, trying his hardest to continue to breath but it was getting harder and harder to do so. “Excuse me if I don’t exact-,” Dipper paused, catching his breath again. “Exactly feel chatty while strapped to a mast.” Dipper finished, hanging his head and panting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is he alright?” The rubber boned pirate asked Tad, a hint of concern twisting his brows. Everyone on the ship knew how Bill got when he got possessive. If the boy died Bill would have an absolute freak out simply because he didn’t get to play yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Tad boosted himself up on some ropes and poked Dipper on the sweaty forehead. “Hey, what's wrong with you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s only been out in the sun for a few hours,” the rubber boned pirate said. “Can’t imagine nobles are this weak.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper didn’t like the implication they made on him being weak, in anger he snapped: “I’m wearing a corset that’s strangling the life out of me! These ropes are not helping my ability to breath!” Dipper panted out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad’s eyes widened in surprise and concern. Surprise that the boy would go so far to obscure his gender and concern that he wouldn’t make it to Tortuga if they didn’t remove the device. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Captain!” Tad jumped down and hurried over to the helm where Bill was annoying their helmsman Pyronica. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Bill responded in a lazy manner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The boy is having trouble breathing, I believe his underclothes need to be removed. I’d like permission to cut him down,” Tad explained quickly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill blinked, a lustful grin overtaking his face. “I’ll do it myself,” Bill abandoned the helm, much to Pyronicas delight and skipped his way to the mast. He took in Dipper’s ragged breathing with concern as well, finding it quite disturbing. “Do you know what is restricting his breath?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Apparently he’s wearing a corset, a French device made to constrain the ribs and stomach of a woman. Making the curses more pronounced, I imagine he donned it to look more womanly,” Tad told his captain. He didn’t care when the boy balked at having this information said loudly while the crew gathered around to see what was going on, when it came to one's health on this ship Tad would not shy away from the facts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked to Amorphous Shape, their look out, who was still lounging on the ropes in front of the boy. “Cut him down,” Bill ordered, waiting beneath to catch him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy seemed barely conscious at this point, he was still mumbling insults which was just adorable to Bill. He caught him easily since he was so small and gently lowered him to the ground. “Tad get me some water,” Bill calmly asked as he pulled a small knife from his boot, this one not enchanted.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill took the front of the dress, pushed his Druids necklace to the side, and cut it down the middle, tearing it off the boy without a second thought. He stalled completely as he ate up the view of the boy in the corset and under skirts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy was smart, that he already knew and had been well established, but he was also beautiful. Sirens had nothing on him, Bill was having a hard time not skipping out on his duties running the ship and taking the boy away to ravish until the sun fell and raised again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill was a firm believer in lifelong companionship. He believed in love and soulmates, but it wasn’t like he could actively search for that in his life. Any time he found someone he reasonably liked and found attractive he kept them until he decided it couldn’t work. He had a feeling that once Pinetree got used to this life, he’d be a very good companion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In one slice Bill cut the lacings of the corset, the boys back arched as he gasped, finally able to get in a good strong breath. Bill idlily noted the large bruise peeking out under the collar of the under shift so he removed that as well, leaving him in only a thin part of women’s knickers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bruising was significant, his rib cage was tinged yellow, blue, and spots of black along his sides. Pinetree seemed to start coming back to his senses and began trying to push him away but Bill just took his wrists and pinned them above his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t struggle, I need to check if you broke any ribs,” Bill murmured, transferring both of his wrists to one hand so he could poke and prod at his chest. “You really shouldn’t have been wearing that so long, I’m guessing you slept in it as well?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper didn’t like this, pinned to the deck with basically no clothes on by the captain, while the crew was all gathered around him. One second he was snipping at Tad and the look out, the next he was on the deck having his clothes ripped off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here’s the water captain,” Tad joined Bill in his kneeling position next to the boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Bill let go of the boy's wrists and began helping him sit up as gently as he could. “Easy, nothings broken but it’s gonna hurt for a while.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper allowed the captain to help prop him up against the mast. He couldn’t comprehend this pirate. One moment he was all lustful looks and spitting out punishments, the next his eye held a gentle glow as he checked him over for injuries like Dipper was something precious. It was befuddling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-,” Dipper licked his lips, his mind felt like it was filled with fog. He could only grasp so much at once. “I di-did sleep in it,” Dipper managed between breaths. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was an idiotic thing to do,” Bill chided him, taking the scoop ladle of water Tad offered and held it to Pinetrees lips. “Drink, I’ll forgive your lie for now since the ropes probably made all this worse.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper groaned, stretching to sit more comfortably against the mast. “It wasn’t stupid,” Dipper muttered in a late defense, pushing the water away. “If you knew I was a boy. . .” Dipper paused, not wanting to say his thin fears of being taken advantage of in case that snapped the pirate back into lustful behavior. “You’d go back for Mabel, I can’t let anything happen to Mabel.” Dipper mumbled through the fog his brain was engulfed in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah. You’re the world’s best brother, that has been duly noted, now drink this.” Bill found himself smiling, feeling a little fond. His own family hadn’t given him more than a passing thought, seeing Pinetree so dedicated to a sibling said a lot about his character. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper muttered something even he didn’t understand before allowing the ladle to be tipped and water to flow over his dried tongue. Once he tasted the life giving liquid Dipper couldn’t stop, he tried to reach up and grab at the scoop to dump it all down his throat faster but Bill smacked his hands away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your body can’t handle too much Pinetree,” Bill soothed him. “Just take it slow and then you’ll take a little caulk, alright?” The fact that they would have a sexual relationship seemed to be disturbing the boy and since he was injured he decided to not mention that he’d be continuing to stay in the captain's bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper gulped, a blush coloring his face when he realized how close the captain had gotten. The entire crew was watching the exchange with these little smiles like it was some fluffy scene in a play. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cap-captain William, if you would please back away from me,” Dipper’s voice cracked, causing the crew to snort and hold back laughter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s Bill to you, Pinetree,” the captain whispered, leaning in closer. Almost close enough to caress the boy's ear with his lips. The little crack in his voice was adorable! Bill couldn't help wanting to touch him.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And It’s Dipper to you! Why the hell are you calling me Pinetree?!” Dipper gasped, shoving the man back to little avail. He was basically naked, was it too much to ask that the man have a little decency?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dipper, that’s an odd name to choose to go by,” Bill murmured. “As for my nickname for you,” Bill picked up the Druid necklace, smirking when the boy immediately snatched it up and held it close. “I believe that’s self explanatory.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy didn’t speak again, just glared, it was cute. Like being stared down by a puppy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still thirsty?” Bill asked, the boy shook his head. “Then let’s get you to bed,” Bill picked him up quickly yet carefully to not cause him any more pain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Put me down!” Dipper gasped, moving to shove at his shoulders only to wince in pain from twisting his bruised rib cage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill rolled his eye, continuing towards his cabin. “Strange the door if you would, the rest of you get back to your work! No prey no pay!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad ran forward, opening first the office door and then the cabin’s. Bill walked passed with the wide eyed and struggling boy, his struggles mostly restricted due to the pain he no doubt felt. Strange knew that whatever happened next he didn’t want to see so he closed the door and retreated. Immediately taking command in case Bill didn’t emerge again that day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper was starting to panic, sometimes when his emotions went haywire he had trouble breathing and could even faint. The sailors on the trip from England had called it his </span>
  <em>
    <span>hysteria</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they’d laughed at him and said it was a woman’s disease. He could feel it happening now, he was already having a hard time breathing and this situation wasn’t helping!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill placed the boy on the bed, keeping a firm hand on his shoulders when he tried to scramble backwards and away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please let me go,” Dipper whispered, looking up at the pirate with big pleading eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill cracked, those eyes wide, emotive, and looking up at him was too much. He bent down and crushed the boy's lips with his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper squeaked in his throat when the pirate was suddenly kissing him. It didn't take even a moment before a hot tongue was curling against the roof of his mouth, Dipper felt a shiver run down his spine. He pushed and shoved at the man’s shoulder but he was a rock. Dipper would have better luck moving a mountain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mhnah!!” Dipper squealed when a hand was laid over his lower back and forced him to arch up against the pirates chest while he climbed over Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their lips moved together and Dipper could barely tell what was happening as the man seemed to be memorizing the contours of his inner mouth. Wet heated breathing between the pirate trying to twist their tongues together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper squeezed his eyes shut, not really knowing what to do here. His hands ended up anchoring against the pirates shoulders, his fingers curled into the collar of his coat. Dipper wasn’t even sure if he was pushing away or pulling closer anymore as his toes curled against his will as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill pulled away, panting and grinning in excitement. The boy hadn’t tried to bite which proved to Bill that he’d been right; the boy wanted this on some level. Between all the blushing and stuttering Pinetree was definitely attracted to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper came back to his senses and gasped, slapping a hand over his mouth and stuttering something about the pirate being a bastard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh calm down, it’s just a kiss,” Bill rolled his eye, still holding the boy against him. He was being as gentle as possible considering his bruised ribs, he should be happy Bill hadn't been rougher. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It certainly was not!” Dipper gasped, he made a sound he didn’t know he could possibly make as the pirate leaned down and began biting and kissing at his neck. “It was my first!” Dipper squirmed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill stopped, freezing where he was. He pulled back and stared down in wonder at the boy. Nobles were always allowed loopholes to the idiotic rules of modesty and restraint, it was almost a miracle that the boy could go 17 years without even a kiss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Bill awed. “You sure there wasn’t a chaste kiss in a dark hallway at a ball? Or anything like that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper blushed profusely, looking away. “N-no, that would have been immoral,” Dipper mumbled. He didn’t like this conversation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What a gem you are,” Bill brushed a hand down his cheek, unoffended when the boy turned his cheek away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please stop,” Dipper begged, tears beginning to slide down his cheeks.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill frowned and pulled away completely, letting the boy drop onto the mattress without his support. “Let me explain something to you Pinetree,” Bill started, his voice hard and left no room for argument. “Pirates are paid with food and lodging for their work, only getting a coin when there is a bounty to share. If you have no use on the ship, you don’t get fed. No prey, no pay.” Bill leaned against the post of the bed, watching the boy shuffle up the bed and press his back against the headboard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wha-why are you telling me this?” Dipper asked, wiping at his tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you, Pinetree, have no use on this ship. You're a soft, little noble that has never had to work in your life. Well the kid gloves have to come off,” Bill plucked up his captain's hat, that must have come off during the forced kiss. “You’re only use to me is in this bed, if you want to be fed, then you will perform, savvy?” Bill placed his hat on his head and turned to leave. “I’ll be back when the sun sets, you best come to terms with your purpose on this ship by then, Pinetree, because you won’t be leaving this ship again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that Bill stomped out of the room, slamming and locking the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper sat on the bed, his breathing ragged and his mind going haywire. “Oh god,” Dipper smothered a sob. He needed to escape, or- or do anything! What was he to do? He had no sailing experience, or any useful information to escape this fate presented. He had no idea what to do. For right then Dipper just let himself cry, pulling the sheets around himself to try and cover himself. His chest hurt from more than the bruises and his lips tingled from the theft of his first kiss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How am I going to get out of here?” Dipper whispered to the empty cabin, to himself. With no answers given by either the room or himself, Dipper laid down and tried to come up with a plan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You came out sooner than expected,” Tad commented when Bill came back irritated instead of the excited giddiness he’d been since realizing Dipper was a boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill blew out a breath, he kept taking the helm from Pyronica and then just walking away. Pyronica had to keep jumping forward to grab at it and then being pushed aside. She was also getting irritated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just. . .” Bill growled something intelligible. “He obviously finds me attractive, he laughed with us earlier right?” Bill asked with a pout on his lips. “He likes men just like I do, I can tell, so living as a noble has to be repressive! He should be happy he doesn’t have to live like that anymore, happy someone like me wants to keep him and give him freedoms he could never have imagined!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad and Pyronica shared a glance, they both knew relationships didn’t work like that but Bill never seemed to understand that. He still wouldn’t understand that every relationship he got into was ruined by his own hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So he started crying, did he?” Pyronica asked as she was pushed from the helm again. Bill could force a relationship past a lot but he always stopped at crying, tears seemed to make the man go soft. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” Bill shouted. “I’m offering a free life! How dare he cry!” Bill grumbled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad sighed, Bill was such an intelligent man but humans and their emotions seemed to escape him entirely. “Bill, try to think about this from his perspective,” Tad began. “Less than 24 hours ago we upended him from everything he’d ever known. We separated him from his twin and told him we were selling him to someone that planned a wedding on the deck of their ship!” Bill pouted and abandoned the helm again to lean against the railing. “Give him some time to adjust, time to come to trust you. I wouldn’t be surprised if at the moment he believes you just want to fuck him a few times before turning him into shark bait.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I never kill my lovers! I always give them some coin and a ride to the port of their choice when I’m done with them!” Bill argued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, but he doesn’t know that,” Pyronica added into the conversation. “And he heard the white haired jobcock pay us so that he is never heard from again. I doubt he expects that you want to keep him forever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to keep him forever?” Tad asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, I figured if he doesn’t work out I could set him up on some island where he’ll never be found,” Bill shrugged, the plan half formed since he hadn’t really given it any thought. Bill rarely cared about backup plans. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you think he’ll just stay there?” Pyronica raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “With someone as crazy as that guy after his sister I doubt he’s even content sitting in your cabin,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly I’m upset about that as well,” Tad muttered. “What if that man finds her?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill suddenly had a look take over his face, a look that said he’d gotten an idea. “Didn’t that girl say that her and Pinetree dreamed of being pirates?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but we’ve already been through this, just because Dipper wants the freedom doesn’t mean he’s just going to fall into your arms Bill,” Tad sighed, sick of going around in circles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Duly noted but that’s not what I’m saying,” Bill began to pace. “It seemed the only thing holding the twins back is the idea of leaving the other and their responsibilities to their family,” Bill explained. It shouldn’t be too hard to get his sister, and as for family responsibilities. . . Well Bill hadn't forgotten the Druids necklace that his mother supposedly left to him. People had more than one family, if Bill could find different family responsibilities it could open up Pinetree’s world. Give him the option to be free. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you suggesting going after Mabel?” Tad asked. In a way he felt excited at the prospect, he quite liked her and believed they could really have something but, he didn’t want to force anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! Pinetree would be happy and as for what island to leave him on, why not ours?” He left out his plans to find out about Pinetree’s family history. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You want to bring a noble to our island?” Pyronica gasped, turning from the helm in her shock. Tad jumped forward and grabbed it, taking a rope to tie around one of the spikes so that everyone could focus on the conversation without the ship sinking. “We have fugitives on that island, people that just want to live their lives freely. We can’t jeopardize them!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought you liked Pinetree?” Bill looked to her curiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do, but not enough to let him in on all our secrets,” she argued. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have protections, Py, not even the English could locate and attack our home,” Bill’s voice took a gentle tone. He knew how important the island was to Pyronica. She had been born on it, as had most of their crew. She had to know he’d never bring harm to Nightmare cove. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you want to bring Dipper to your home and then attack the British?” Tad asked, looking at Bill like he was absolutely crazy. “And then what exactly? Force those twins to rebuild their lives there? Trapped forever by us? I don’t exactly want to be her capture and I doubt you want to be Dipper’s forever either!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the beauty of getting both of them!” Bill jumped forward to explain. “They obviously have a close bond, if we can give them both a life away from the duty and responsibilities that they both seem to destain, they may just-,” Bill stopped, not really knowing what to say. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t really expect them to just accept that,” Tad waved away the possibility. Bill was acting crazy, humans didn’t just allow themselves to be kidnapped and then just happily live out their lives with their captors without serious trauma. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well it is the only option if they both want to be together!” Bill growled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three didn’t speak for a while, just staring each other down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will Mabel have any choice in this?” Tad finally asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to answer to Strange,” Bill looked him in the eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye aye captain,” Tad narrowed his eyes but turned to leave anyway. He didn’t like what Bill was planning but he knew Bill would be at fair as he could be. “But remember Bill, not everything needs to end in a battle. Diplomacy has its place.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad walked away with that. Bill looked at him walk away with a befuddled look, his mouth agape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s he expecting me to do?! Pay a damn dowry for the girl? Fordsy would never allow it!” Bill huffed to no one in particular. “The man hates me for sleeping with men,” Bill grumbled softly to himself, pushing Pyronica, who had taken the helm once again, away so he could take control of the ship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica threw her hands up in frustration, stopping away. “What good is the title of helmsman! I guess I’ll swab that damn deck!” She yelled out. Bill just continued to pout, thinking about what the hell he was going to do with the boy in his bedroom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>____________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper cursed as the tenth hair pin snapped in his hands. He’d broken so many and that had been his last, the lock was so complex! Lock picking had got him nowhere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first lock he’d tried was the closet lock, to get himself some clothes, when that hadn’t planned out and the sun began to dip, Dipper began trying the cabin door. Now the light was almost gone and nothing had changed. Dipper was still basically naked, locked up in the captain's cabin and without a weapon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was time for a plan B; attack. Dipper positioned himself behind the door and waited. He didn’t have a weapon, so his fists would have to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper waited with baited breath, his eyes kept shifting to the sun setting over the water, his heart beginning to beat wildly with every minute that went by. The waiting was torturous, his mind a whirlwind of pro’s and con’s of whether this was a good idea or not. This thought process, a push and pull. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course he should preemptively attack! If he didn’t the man was going to take him, he’d made that very clear. But if he didn’t succeed in bringing the pirate down, which seemed likely considering the man was built with more muscle than a shark and Dipper was injured, then the pirate may just beat him. Pirates do that sort of thing, don’t they?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure he’d been gentle earlier but he was a pirate! Pirates were thieves, smugglers, and murderers. He was probably just trying to trick him into compliance, and when that hadn’t worked he’d had made it clear that if Dipper still refused when he came back then he’d be starved! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man was the worst kind of person! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly attacking the man didn’t seem like such a good idea. But what else could he do? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper bit his lip, was cardinal pleasure really the only use he had on this ship? Couldn’t he work in the kitchens, or swab the deck? The pirate hadn’t even considered that he had any use besides sex!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe Dipper could-, the lock clicked. Dipper was so shocked that he jumped, immediately abandoning the attack plan to run for the windowed wall and hide behind the curtains. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill opened the door, and looked around. He half expected the boy to come running at him, fists flying but instead he caught a glimpse of his fluffy hair ducking behind the curtains. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, hide and seek it is,” Bill chuckled, closing and locking the door with his key, which he quickly put back on its chain and tucked under his shirt. “Come out, come out wherever you are,” Bill playfully called as he approached the curtain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill took the end of the curtain and began to pull it back only for the boy to dart out from the other side, straight for the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper grabbed the handle and yanked, but it did not budge. His heart sank when he found it locked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper didn’t move, he couldn’t. He’d desperately run for the door and now he knew that he truly was trapped. A tanned pair of arms caged him in, making Dipper feel even more like a trapped bird than he already did. A pair of lips touched his ear and Dipper tried to flinch away but there was nowhere to go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill chuckled against the boys trembling flesh, kissing and nipping at his ear. “You didn’t think I’d lock the door? You must not think very highly of me Pinetree,” Bill whispered into the shell of his ear, husky and low. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper tried to press himself into the door but the pirate just further confined the space by pressing his body against him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cap-captain William. . .” Dipper’s voice cracked, more due to fear than anything else. “. . . please-.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold your pleas Pinetree,” Bill hushed him, taking one hand to trace a gentle finger up and down Dipper's ribs. Dipper shuddered, loving and hating the sensation. “And again, you will call me Bill, all my lovers do.” Bill bent forward to kiss sweet trails along the back of Dipper's neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-I am no-not your lov-lover,” Dipper squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his forehead against the wood of the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Bill hummed. “Not yet,” he finished, smirking against the boy's skin. He was shaking, stuttering, and most interestingly reacting to the small affectionate gestures. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please,” Dipper whispered, peeking back to look at the pirate. “Please do not force me,” he begged, blinking back tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no wish to ruin you Pinetree,” Bill murmured, taking his shoulders to turn him around so he could no longer hide. “But I’ve told you, if you have no use you can’t be fed. This is your only use, unless you’d like to go sleep with the crew? I can assure you I am not the only one that lusts for you.” Bill left out that none of his crew would dare try anything with him. He’d already marked and claimed the boy as his property. That choker still in his neck was evident that his claim was real. Although Bill had a better one than that piece of old junk, one that wasn’t put on by that chubby idiot Englishman. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s what you decided,” Dipper stated, managing not to stutter; finally. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh and you find that unfair?” Bill took on a patronizing tone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course!” Dipper put up his hands to push at the man’s chest, only to find he didn’t have the strength. The man’s chest was so. . . wow. Dipper found himself just holding his hands there, not moving or pushing. “Yo-you haven’t even given me a chan-chance to prove otherwise!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill blinked, caught a little off guard. He had expected fighting, maybe begging, but definitely not bartering. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?” Bill raised an eyebrow, letting go of the boys shoulders to rest his elbows on the door. Caging Pinetree once again within his arms, the position left them on eye level. Their faces no more than a few inches apart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Dipper tried to keep his mind rational, piecing together his argument as he went along. “You have decided I have no use outside that of a bed pet based on your preconceived notions of my nobility!” Dipper began, feeling like he was treading a fine line. He honestly didn’t even know where he was going with the point before saying it. “You know nothing of me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked him over in thought on how to go about this. His Pinetree was a rational being so he decided to go with said logic. “Your hands,” Bill began, moving to grasp one hand that was feeling up his chest. He affectionately rubbed his thumb over the boy's palm. “is soft,” Bill released the hand. “Your temperament switches between angry and frightened faster than a fire flickers. You wouldn’t last a day in sailors' work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So let’s just skip to the part where you fall into my arms, eh?” Bill took in the blushed offense the boys face offered like it was something to behold. “Come now, don’t think for a moment I haven’t noticed the way you freeze whenever you see me, blushing like a little miss on her wedding night. You obviously like men just as I do, why not just give into it, hm?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper took in the way Bill tipped his head, the fine sharp features of his face lightened by the way his golden bangs grazed across his cheeks. Even his eye patch made his face sinful and tempting and Dipper was definitely tempted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead he cleared his throat and looked away. “Granted,” he stated quietly. “I do find you attractive, you are a very well built man, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Captain William</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill was only slightly surprised that Pinetree actually owned up to the feelings he no doubt had for the same gender. Most would fight it a little harder, yet Pines were always odd so Bill couldn't be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> shocked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bill,” he corrected and inclined his head as he stepped back and sat himself upon the bed. Never once taking his eyes off his Pinetree. “Continue.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper gulped, grasping for the thought process he’d been on before Bill had interrupted. “Yes I find you attractive, but that has no bearing on my distaste to sleep with you against my will! If you are to relegate me to the position of whore based on your prejudice, then I will have it at least proven true before I take it without a fight!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill didn’t say anything, just appearing to be thinking on his words seriously, so Dipper continued. His words got faster as he began to see real hope within his argument. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At least let me try to prove I can fill some other job,” the pirate seemed interested so Dipper steeled himself and threw in a deal he hoped would turn his night around. “You said I wouldn’t last a day, then you have to at least let me try to prove you wrong. If I can’t then I will accept your decision, and come to your bed . . . willingly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill stroked his eye patch in thought. It was a good deal, Pinetree would come to his bed willingly and if all terms were followed then some trust would be built between them, satisfying Strange’s wishes. Bill didn’t honestly believe Pinetree had any chance of finding a job that wasn’t already handled expertly by Bill’s crew of old salts, that he could also do well. In the end it would all come out in Bill’s favor, so there was no harm in losing one night if it meant Pinetree would be willing for the rest of the coming nights. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have a deal,” Bill agreed but continued before the boy could celebrate. “But you will still be sleeping in here, in my bed. I wasn’t lying when I said it was cold as of late.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper twitched, his eyes moving to the bed and then back to the pirate rapidly. “But-.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Non negotiable,” Bill waved away whatever argument he was about to spout. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper gulped. “Do I at least get to wear, well, anything?” He asked with a slight whine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill laughed, falling back into the bed before hopping up and heading to the closet. “You may borrow some of my clothes until we arrive in Tortuga, after that we will have to get you some things without a skirt attached.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I meant to bed,” Dipper clarified when the pirate began laying out clothes for him to wear in the morning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I suppose you may have a shift for now,” Bill relented when he caught sight of the boy's pleading eyes. But only because it would help Bill keep to his end of the bargain if the boy wasn’t half naked anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And that was the only reason, those big doe eyes had nothing to do with the decision whatsoever!</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. ATTACK! Sail ho!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Bill woke up warm, warmer than he had been in a long time. It must have been years since he'd shared his bed with anyone, it felt nice to wake up like this again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pinetree, it seemed, was a cuddler. The boy had his head buried in Bill's chest, his hands held between them. His fluffy hair was all Bill could see when he’d opened his eye, it was the most charming thing he ever witnessed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boys even breath tickled his neck, and Bill had all the time in the world to look over just how stunning Pinetree really was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His skin was so pale, like it had rarely seen the sun, which meant his story about being a forced shut-in as a child was true. His hair softer than anything Bill had felt before, curly and well maintained. His body was thin, but healthy. No muscles at all although Bill didn’t expect any based on what he already knew about Pinetree’s past. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill allowed himself to get lost in a fantasy, thinking of lazy mornings waking up this angel and heading off to get breakfast with his crew. It was such a wonderful way to start the morning. Bill didn’t honestly think Pinetree would be his one, all his relationships ended one way or another. But it was nice to dream. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill pulled away gently, untangling their legs so he could get a better look at the boy. His hair was hanging in front of his softly shut eyes so Bill raised his hand to brush his bangs aside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the-“ Bill muttered when he spotted the edge of what looked like a scar. He pulled the brown locks all the way back and found not a scar but a birthmark. “Wow,” Bill breathed, lightly tracing the perfectly scaled symbol straight from the heavens. “Ursa Major, what are you Pinetree?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This combined with the Druids necklace . . . Bill sat up as fast as he could without disturbing the boy and quickly washed and changed. Most likely he left much to be desired but his mind was bursting with questions. He needed his books, he needed to find the answers to the confounding creature currently sleeping like an angel in his bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill shut the door, negating locking it and went straight for the wall behind his desk. He reached up and unlatched the false wall to reveal his little library. None of the books had any titles, because all these books spoke of the non human; his kind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would find the meaning of that birthmark here, he was sure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>___________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Footsteps echoed around Dipper as he held his mother's hand. He felt light and giddy and happy as she led him up the curling steps of her tower. No one was allowed in the tower but her, Dipper remembered that, but she was bringing him up. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She was singing something, Dipper couldn't grasp the words, light kept jumping around and distracting him. But he should remember, she took him here every year, one week after his birthday. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hadn’t they been walking for too long? This tower wasn’t that tall. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You are like me,” his mother whispered to him. He looked up as her and suddenly they were in her work room at the top of her tower. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Really mamá?” Dipper asked as she brushed his bangs back and lightly dusted his forehead in white powder. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes, you are my little Ursa Major, my Dipper,” she smiled softly at him. “But you must be careful, our world doesn’t take kindly to our kind.” She took a cold clay from a bowl and traced it along his birthmark. “I’m going to teach you, but-,” she kept talking but Dipper </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>couldn’t hear her anymore. Her singing voice overlapped the scene as he felt himself slipping away. </span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper blinked his eyes open, and pulled the blanket more firmly around himself. He wanted to go back, back to the dream about his mother. He had barely thought about her since news of the shipwreck that took her life. Along with his father. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper parents had been good people, patient and kind. Dipper's father had been a man who was compassionate, yes he had enforced the order to keep Dipper locked up but he’d done that because he’d been afraid. Terrified he’d lose his only son to whatever unknown disease had almost killed Dipper as an babe. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sadly Dipper couldn’t stay in sleepy bliss forever and eventually he had to face the music. Today he had to figure out how the hell he could be useful on a ship. Dipper honestly had no idea, on the trip from England not one of the sailors would allow him to try out any of the jobs they did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper chewed on the sleeve of Bill’s sleeping shift that had been loaned to him and sat fretting for a long moment. He needed a plan, although he didn’t have enough information to make the damn plan! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He needed to know how the day was going to be structured. Was Bill just going to let him lose to wander around and try to find something to do? Or would he be placed in someone’s charge to find that job? He doubted Bill wanted him to succeed, so he might do his best to deter him from finding anything that would make him useful. He wouldn’t be surprised if the captain had told his crew already to make this task down right impossible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Dipper would not be cowled. He refused to be this pirates whore, he would fight all day, break his knuckles swabbing the deck if he had too. Dipper Pines was no one's kept boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper sat up and headed for the basin. It was time to fight, no more crying or sitting around in bed. Without allowing himself to fret upon the idea of stripping down inside the captain's room, Dipper removed the shift and began to wash himself down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once done Dipper turned to the clothes Bill had laid out for him. He found a blue vest, a white button down with flared cuffs, and brown breaches. Unfortunately the shoes refused to fit, about four sizes too big for his tiny feet. He couldn’t be surprised, he had fit in his sisters heels just the night previous. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grabbed up a pair of stockings to tuck under his knickers so he at least had something to protect his feet. The white button down was far too big on Dipper, he had to roll the sleeve thrice in order to get them to stay out of his way. The sleeves of the garment were silk, while the body was cotton, embroidered elegantly. In order to get it to fit Dipper had to tie the ends in a knot at his right hip. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The vest was smaller, old and a bit ratted on the edges, Dipper guessed it wasn’t Bill clothing. Probably something one of the lovers he kept mentioning left behind. It seemed that he and this mystery person were the same size. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper buttoned the vest and looked back to the mirror. He was far away from his personally tailored suits, and fine fabrics. Yet he somehow still looked noble. His father used to say nobility was more than clothes, it was a way a person held themselves, it was the confident tilt of one's chin. It was the ability to walk through hardships without bending, no matter what befalls you. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper straightened his back proudly. He would do his father proud. Taking a deep stabling breath Dipper stepped to the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until he was turning the handle of the door that he wondered if he’d been locked in, but the door opened so Dipper let the thought go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper found Bill in the office, pouring over a book and furiously scribbling notes. He hadn’t seemed to hear Dipper open the door. The wall behind the desk had been. . . opened or something, a small treasure trove of books was now on display. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are these books?” Dipper asked. Bill jumped a foot in the air and slammed his notebook and book closed simultaneously. Dipper froze up, not wanting to upset the man. “There weren’t any titles.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That you do not need to know,” Bill stated seriously. He turned and put the book away before raising a false wall and locking it. “These are precious, and secret, do not go near them Pinetree.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper now felt incredibly more curious about the hidden bookshelf but he also wasn’t one for self punishment and decided to leave it be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Dipper mumbled, deciding to just move on and get this started. “What can I try first?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked up, seeming confused for a moment before understanding donned on him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yes,” Bill muttered. “Lava Lamp might need a hand in the kitchen cleaning up breakfast, go eat and then report to him. When you fail find Py, myself, or Tad and we will direct you to a different job.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper glared at the insinuation that he’d fail with cleaning but refused to play into his game so he turned away and marched to the door. “I will do that, but I won’t be failing! I’ll have you know that I have in fact cleaned before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t have guessed by looking at you,” Bill muttered, seemingly distracted. It threw Dipper off, this was the first time he wasn’t the pirates sole focus when talking with him. It made him feel weird. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh-okay,” Dipper found himself saying instead of biting back. He opened the door and slipped out without the pirate even looking up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_______________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad slipped into Bill’s office and watched as he almost manically flipped through three books at once, his eye moving fast as he read. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I figured you’d be doing the lover act this morning, fussing over Dipper and not letting him out of sight,” Tad spoke up, watching as Bill didn’t even seem to hear him. “Imagine my surprise when your newest obsession slipped out for breakfast alone.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I’m distracted at the moment,” Bill mumbled as he underlined something. Scratching at his eye patch before just taking it off in frustration. He’d never worn it this long before, normally he got to take it off after setting sail and being around only the crew. His deep black eye blinked open and began to aid in the quest of reading. “You're a Fae, what do you know about the Druids? Any connections to sapphires?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Correction, I'm an abandoned Fae. My original parents switched me out for my human parents' real child. You know very well that I remember nothing of Fae culture.” Tad snapped, this being a sour subject for him. The Fae lived and breathed ‘beauty’, so apparently he wasn’t a very cute baby if they switched him out for a human child. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was lucky though, most people when finding their original child missing in place of a strange large eyed, fairy babe, would just abandon the child again. But his human parents had grieved first their original child, and taken care of him, raising him to be a normal human being to the best of their abilities. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I thought you might have researched something about your heritage,” Bill muttered as he flipped a few pages. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Says the son of a succubus, refusing to admit how he drains every relationship he gets with his unsatisfiable lust,” Tad snipped back, taking a seat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is hereditary, I have no control of it!” Bill looked up to pout. “I didn’t ask for a miracle to happen when mom somehow got pregnant by a human, that shouldn’t be able to happen!” Bill launched into his usual rant, distracted from his distraction for a moment. Finally he stopped and Tad decided to change the subject. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What has grasped your interests so? It had to be big if it distracted you from your bet with the boy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He has the stars on his head,” Bill said as he jumped up and pulled out a star chart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pinetree! He has Ursa Major on his forehead! The constellations engraved into his skin and I need to know why!” Bill slammed down the chart and grabbed up the first book he could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm, that is weird,” Tad agreed, picking up Bill’s book of scribbles. Looking over his notes Tad took in the drawn rendering of Dipper necklace. “Could this be a talisman?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That's what bothers me the most!” Bill snapped, standing up and pacing. “I don’t know! If it was a talisman it would have some power coming off it, but it doesn’t, so then he has to be human! I thought maybe he was a branch off descendent and then I saw that birthmark!” Bill seemed almost frenzied as he tore books from the shelves to throw open and then slam them closed when he didn’t find what he wished. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you need more information?” Tad suggested lightly. “He may or may not know everything, but he might know details that you can piece together.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill seemed to like that idea. “Yes, at the very least I need to find out more about his mother. How hard do you think it would be to get a family history of the Pines?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Considering the fact that for generations they used their twins as body doubles I doubt the family has been forthright with their records,” Tad sighed, it would be incredibly difficult to get an untampered family tree of the Pines family. “And if there truly is a witch within the noble family I doubt they will write it on the crown records, they might as well ask the church to come bearing pitchforks.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ve all had bad experiences with the church,” Bill nodded, how did a witch hide within a noble family without getting caught? And he knew she didn’t get caught, if she truly had been a witch, he would have heard about a noble witch. It was the kind of thing he watched out for. “Maybe we should ask Py, witches are her kind. Maybe she’ll have an idea about all this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s the best option beside just talking to Dipper about it, although she’s a fire witch, and a new aged new at that, not a celestial witch or whatever Dipper's mother seemed to be,” Tad sighed, standing up. “I’ll check on Dipper, you should come eat eventually.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah yeah,” Bill waved him off, relaxing back to read again. “I’ll come down later, do me a favor and send Py in.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye aye,” Tad chuckled before leaving. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He called to Pyronica that the captain wanted to see her before ducking below deck to check on Lava Lamp and Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It appeared that he had arrived at the perfect moment, he stepped into the galley just as a large crash sounded from the kitchen. Followed by apologies. Tad stifled a laugh and moved to save the boy from Lava’s wraith. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>____________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper was definitely not having a good start. Lava Lamp was the ship's cook, he was a man whose head touched the ceiling and a wicked gap toothed grin. His skin even looked almost red in color, all in all Dipper had a hard time believing this man was human! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lava had been curt, telling him to clear the tables of dishes the moment he came down and finished eating. Dipper tried to go fast, so he stacked them all in his arms, getting food and gunk all over himself in the process. He thought he was doing well until he tripped and broke everything that could be broken and dented the rest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper had sat up covered in filth and a very angry ship cook standing over him. He opened his mouth to start yelling at him only for the gentleman pirate to clear his throat interrupting them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seems the kitchen is not the place for our young noble, I’ll take him to his next task then Lava, thank you,” Tad stepped in to help Dipper up, brushing him off. Lava stomped away, mumbling something about respecting one's dishes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper pouted, looking down at his bear feet. “What’s my next task?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh don’t hang a jib, maybe scrubbing the desk is more your speed. Let’s go give it a try,” Tad motioned the boy to follow once he had most of the filth off his once stain free clothes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Scrubbing the deck, I can do that,” Dipper whispered to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately it seemed it could not scrub a deck. He kept knocking over buckets, tripping, falling face first into others and the deck. At one point he over rotated his wrists while scrubbing on his knees and a large pop sounded, accompanied by visceral pain. It was at that point Bill had glanced over the railing and told him to report to Amorphous. Try being a lookout. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill had been less abrasive than Dipper had thought he’d be today. He thought Bill would be watching him closely for the slightest mistake but he seemed to not even care what Dipper was doing. Only stepping in when he harmed himself accidentally. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper was slowly losing hope for his virginity, and it bugged him that he felt upset that Bill seemed too caught up in his secret conversations with Pyronica and Tad to pay attention to him. Why did he feel jealous of them for having the man’s attention? He should be glad! Glad the pirate wasn’t touching and pressuring him! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And yet, he wasn’t glad. God help him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper struggled to climb the ropes up into the crows nest. He had no idea how Amorphous was able to do it with more ease than anyone Dipper had ever seen! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It gets easier with practice!” Amorphous laughed when the boy finally clamored onto the platform. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It would be easier with muscle!” Dipper wheezed causing the man to laugh harder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yer a funny boy, Dipper!” He grinned at Dipper and he found himself grinning back. Despite himself he found he couldn’t hate the pirate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you do those tricks on the ropes?” Dipper asked with a twinge of excitement. “It looks as if you have no bones when you do them!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man seemed uncomfortable with the question. He cleared his throat and looked away. “Genes, and stretching daily,” he answered finally after a long moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wish I could do that, so far the only things I seem to be good for is reading and being a bed warmer,” Dipper mumbled pitifully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got the captain to listen to you, accept a deal that banned him from fucking you.” Dipper flinched at his harsh wording, everyone had used far more evasive wording to describe what Bill wanted from him. He was not used to his manner of speech. “That’s a feat on its own, boy, be proud of that. You got yourself a sharp mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is what happens when you spend your life in a tower, you either learn to use your head, or you rot,” Dipper sighed, taking the spy glass he was handed and looking out over the horizon like the other man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t seem the type to rot,” he shot back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had my sister,” Dipper offered. “She broke up the monotony, it’s why I’d do anything for her. She made my childhood fun, kept me sane. So I’d even dress as a woman and go to a gala in her place, if she so asked,” Dipper looked back at the man. “To answer your question from earlier.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He raised a curious brow. “So there was nothing in it for you? Besides loyalty to your sister.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, there was a promise of trading her secret skill for my likeness at the party,” Dipper bashfully admitted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ha!” He laughed. “What skills does yer sister possess that would get you into a skirt?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper grinned, laughing a little in his throat. “I wanted to sail actually, ironic that going to the gala in a dress was supposed to end with my sister drafting a letter to get my uncles to allow me voyage, instead I ended up with exactly what I wanted only with far different company.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man gaffled at him, finding the humor in the irony just as Dipper had. It was a horrid situation to be sure but it was still darkly funny that in another time this was a fantasy of Dippers. To be taken by pirates and somehow allowed to stay, but that was a childhood dream, now he was basically an adult and understood he couldn’t just disappear on a pirate ship because he wanted to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s an excellent forge, my sister, can mimic most handwriting as long as she’s seen it. We used to collect wax stamps whenever we could, use them to further our freedoms in childhood,” Dipper felt a little somber thinking of the games he and Mabel used to play, the tricks they conjured while bored as children. Many times Mabel had tricked their governess into thinking she was to give them sweets for breakfast, or Dipper had found yet another secret tunnel in their home. It all just made him sad that she wasn’t there with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You going to call out that sail, boy?” Dipper jumped, he hadn’t realized how long he’d been lost in thought. He looked out and noticed a ship coming towards them at a frightening speed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I. . . I got lost in thought,” Dipper said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm, sorry boy. But I don’t think you are suited to being a lookout, you best get down and hide somewhere. That ship don’t look friendly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Dipper huffed, disappointed in himself for messing up things again and also a little scared by what was to come. “Okay.” Dipper began the journey back to the deck as Amorphous began to shout warnings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“SAIL HO! YELLOW JACK!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked up at the call, his eye immediately searching out his little mystery Pinetree. He found the boy climbing down from the crows nest, his head turning to see the incoming ship. The ship was coming in like a battleship, yet it flew a yellow flag. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ALL HAND HOY! AND RAISE THE JACK!” Bill kept a firm eye on Pinetree as he struggled to get down from the mast. “Strange!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye captain?” Tad quickly appeared flitting out from nowhere like the fairy he was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get Pinetree below deck!” Bill ordered, hoping that ‘out of sight, out of mind’ would actually work to let him focus on this battle. “Paci-fire, Keyhole!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Prepare the cannons! If they still come at us like a shark within 30 fathoms run a shot across their bow!” Bill ordered, he directed the eye bats to their positions. The eye bats any of his crew more mindless than the rest, a common side effect of humans mixing with other species. It didn’t mean they couldn’t fight, but it did mean they didn’t really ever have real names. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye aye!” The crew cheered. Bill kept his eye on Tad as he reached Pinetree. He pulled him from the ropes and hurried him into his cabin. He’d be safe there, until whatever this was ended. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Prepare to strike them in the chase gun!” Bill called before turning to Pyronica at the helm. “Bring a spring upon ‘er on my signal, if they intend to slam into our broadside I reckon we ruin their day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing I like more, can I light their ship asunder?” She asked with a boardending grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We wait until their intentions are clear, then we can party,” Bill grinned back at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper didn’t struggle when Tad pulled him off the ropes and forcefully led him back into the captain's cabin. “Stay here,” he had said like Dipper needed instruction to avoid a battle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d almost left before he’d suddenly grabbed his sword at his hip and turned back to Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To protect yourself, I’ll come back when it’s safe,” he handed Dipper the sword and he took it tentatively. He’d never held a weapon before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if I accidentally attack you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad smiled softly, finding it cute that the boy wasn’t thinking about how he was a captive at the moment. “I’ll do a special knock,” Tad rapped three times on the door. “Then you’ll know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be safe,” Dipper called as Tad turned and shut the door, locking it more for his own safety than to keep him captive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad exited the captains office just as a warning rang out: “FIRE IN THE HOLE!” He looked up at the sound of the cannon firing at the ship that had lowered it's yellow jack and raised a black flag. Cannibalizing pirates then, the kind that go after other pirates, the worst kind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The second shot took out their chase gun, and Tad had to step quick to catch himself when Pyronica turned the ship hard to port. They narrowly avoided being smashed into, the ships scraped against each other and Bill yelled out his order: “NO QUARTER!” Tad was just in time to see the eye bats and Amorphous swing onto the enemy ship, both ships knowing they were too close for cannon fire without harming themselves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad cried out with the crew as he grabbed one of the fools that made it onto The Rift and snapped his neck without mercy. He took the man’s cutlass and joined the fray. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_______________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Owch!” Mabel yelped when Wendy lashed her in the butt with the wooden sword. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have to be light on your feet, but stable! Your stance needs to widened,” she struck Mabel on her thighs, forcing her to bow her legs. “You have a sword made for speed and striking, not a cutlass, you need to not hesitate and strike!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel tightened her grip on the wooden rapier and sprang forward with sword thrust. Wendy leapt back and smacked the hilt from Mabel’s hand, making her drop the makeshift training weapon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Better! Pick it up Mason, let’s do it again!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No let’s take a break before you break me!” Mabel cried, shaking her bruised wrist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy laughed, stepping back to lean against the railing. “You make a fine swordsman, or you will, under my care. You have a grace to your steps, you need to think of a battle like a dance. Your partner is your opponent, when he steps, so do you,” Wendy explained while allowing Mabel’s breather. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So said another pirate I met once,” Mabel whispered, her heart lightening a bit to know the man hadn’t lied about that. “Wendy, might I ask you a question?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well of course noble sir,” Wendy gave a good natured smile and a tiny bow of her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you know of the pirates that have my twin?” Mabel asked, needing to know what her brother might be enduring because of her. “This captain, The Cipher of the seven seas, who is he? Will he hurt my twin?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy made a face, a darkness coming over her face. “That ship is steeped in mystery, but my father's ship once docked at Tortuga at the same time as his. That man is cruel, I saw him shoot a man for daring to not laugh at his joke.” Wendy bit her thumb nail in thought. Mabel felt her stomach drop in despair, and Wendy must have seen the look on her face because she immediately tried to assure her. “Do not be too alarmed, while Captain Cipher may have the libido and tongue of a demon, he has never so much as looked at a woman. He prefers to take company with men, he hit on my brother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel’s eyes widened, she knew it was meant to be a comfort to find out that the captain wouldn’t rape lady Pines, but only Wendy didn’t know that he actually had lord Pines. Would that man, the man she met in the tavern with the sinful smile, take her brother's virtue?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is tha-that common with pirates?” Mabel asked, hoping it wasn’t. “You spoke so plainly about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very common, buccaneers even engage in civil unions between men. Much to England’s contempt, we call them matelotage,” Wendy smiled as she explained. It sounded as if she highly respected the illegal marriages. Mabel would too, if it wasn’t her brother's life in the balance they were speaking of. She knew English marriages regularly were done against one's will, could it happen with these matelotage’s as well?  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Could one of these marriages be . . . forced?” Mabel asked coyly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would you care? Your sister is safe, Cipher is just as likely to abandon her on Tortuga as sell her. As long as she holds a coin value she will come of no harm by his crew,” Wendy stated sharply. “He may be a cad, and a murderer, but he has a splinter of honor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then for my own edification, can this matelotage be forced on one of the men?” Mabel stressed. She didn’t know how but she just knew her brother would be enchanting to Captain William. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They aren’t supposed to be,” Wendy sighed. “It normally happens for financial reasons, it does normally include sex but it’s always based on mutual agreement . . . but I suppose a captain could override that. Considering there aren’t any steadfast rules on it.” Mabel felt her heart drop. They must have figured out that Dipper was a he by now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You ready for your step work lesson now?” Wendy asked after a long silence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel gulped, shoving down her worry and looked to Wendy. “Yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper pushed himself in the corner, shaking where he stood as the ship tipped and the sound of battle began above him. The ceiling shook and the ship rattled, and Dipper didn’t know what to do. He held Tad’s cutlass out and ready but it was heavy, too heavy for Dipper to keep holding without his arms falling off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t like the ornate dagger, it wasn’t for show. It was for use, that made it different.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know how long this went on before he heard a shuffle in the captain's office, banging around like someone was looking for something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somehow Dipper knew that it wasn’t Bill, or any of the crew. They were too careless sounding, like they didn’t give a shit what broke. He was holding his breath, doing his best not to be heard even as a pitiful whimper built up in the back of his throat. He didn’t know how to fight! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The handle rattled and Dipper jumped, firming his grip on the sword and readying himself to defend his own life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A solid kick rattled the door when whoever was on the other side found it locked, and then another broke the lock open and threw the door into the wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper was frozen in panic as he stared at the fat bald man that was revealed. He seemed shocked as well, he hadn’t expected to find Dipper in the room apparently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man looked Dipper up and down before laughing. “Seems Cipher has a ‘ery different kind of loot in ‘ere,” the man laughed with a voice like a knife grinding against steel. “‘Ey! Guys, ol’ Ciphers has himself a matelot!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper glared at the man. “I don’t know what that is, but I certainly am not one!” He assumed that was some pirate term for whore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, then this be his newest bed warmer!” Another man stepped into view, this one with shoulders so broad they were larger than Dipper arms were long. “A good find Blendin! Cipher always did have the most choice young men in his bed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper shuddered at the looks the men were giving him. On this ship the crew had been kind and mannered around him. No one but Bill looking at him like they were imagining what his body could do but these men . . . their eyes made Dipper’s stomach revolt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lea-leave me be and I will not attack you!” Dipper threatened as harshly as he could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two men laughed before utterly ignoring him. “Get him to the ship, I’ll further the search of the hold for the loot.” The burly man told the fat one before turning away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper pressed himself against the wall in fear, he knew he couldn’t take anyone down even with a sword. And this pirate had obviously called his bluff. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! Go away!” Dipper screamed when the man began approaching him, the sword shook in his hands and Dipper tried to hold it aloft but it was just too heavy for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s just be calm here Boy, we’ll take good care of ya,” the man stated as he came into swinging range. Dipper yanked his courage close and gulped before slashing at the man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He jumped back, pulling out his own cutlass. The clash of steel was heavy, he didn’t seem to be trying very hard but the press of the enemies blade caused Dipper to bend, almost falling to his knees. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never held a sword before, I can tell by yer noodle arms,” the man laughed, his horrid breath ghosting over Dipper's face. “How does Cipher find boys like you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper grunted as the pressure intensified, this man was disgusting. He didn’t want this pirate anywhere near him! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of work on our ship,” he grinned down at Dipper as he forced him down onto his knees and whipped out a hand to twist the hilt of the sword out of his hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dippers eyes widened as the sword was yanked away and thrown across the room. Before he even knew what was happening a hand had found his hair and he was being dragged to the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What soft hair you have! The boys are gonna love you, a little stress relief to tired sailors. Tis a good career choice for you little boy!” The man kicked open the broken door and pulled Dipper into the office. Then out into the battle raging on the deck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Dipper screeched, clawing at the man’s gloved hand, trying his hardest to get away. He kicked and struggled, his hair ripping and blood seeping over his scalp. His chest burned as his struggling caused him to hit his already tender ribs against walls and doorways on the way onto the deck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper looked around wildly for help, he looked for Amorphous, or Pyronica, maybe Tad, Dipper would even take Lava! Anyone!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In his mind he lamented that no one would save him. They were all pirates in the end, even if The Rift pirates had been kind at times they still only wanted one thing from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yet that didn’t mean Dipper would be dragged into a worse situation without a fight! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let go of me!” Dipper screamed. Even if they were all pirates, and both ships wanted his body, on this one it was only the captain. Not the whole ship, and it was that distinction that would keep Dipper fighting to stay on The Rift until he can find a way home! “Release me!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>______________</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Bill kicked his opponent in the chest, knocking him over the side of the ship. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that a few of the cannibalistic pirates sneaking off into the hold. They’d be met with Lava down there, the below deck guardian. The man didn’t like to battle but he’d melt their insides for touching his domain, he was very protective of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was normal for pirates like this to send men to steal loot while the battle raged, but they were stupid to try. The moment they set eyes on The Rift they marked themselves for death. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Besides Bill most important loot was safely guarded in his cabin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And just to make sure, Bill took a peek over the railing at the man guarding the door to his office and cabin. Only he was dead. . . </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit! Pinetree!” Bill leaped over the railing and moved the broken door aside. He could see into the cabin and Pinetree was gone. “Son of a bastard!” Bill yelled and looked around through the chaos. Men were fighting over the two decks, making it impossible to spot the defenceless little noble in the fray. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t dead, Bill knew that because he was valuable. Sailing meant a lot of time alone, even to non-succubus the seas got lonely and not every ship would be willing to treat him with as much respect as they had been. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“PINETREE!” Bill called, cutting down men as he ran towards the rival pirates deck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper had almost given up, his struggling had been useless so far. He’d lost hope as the man got him to the railing, just holding onto it with all his might was all he could muster. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let go of the railing boy, or I’ll cut yer arms off!” The man threatened. He whimpered, shaking his head. Refusing to yield.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“PINETREE!” Dipper perked up, glancing around to see Bill emerging from the smoke looking more enraged then he’d ever seen the pirate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Captain William!” Dipper screamed. “Help!” He begged for him as the man holding him by his hair yanked harder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill sent a look that could kill to the bulbous man touching and hurting his Pinetree! He gripped his cutlass tighter as he pulled his fire knife from his belt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get your filthy hands off my loot,” Bill threatened as he matched forward. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt his hope rise. He’s struggle began anew as the man loosened his grip on Dipper. The man’s hand shook, Dipper understood, the pirate Bill Cipher was terrifying. And Dippers only hope. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H-he’s Captions Times loot now!” The man yelled as he smacked Dipper in the head so hard his vision swam and he lost his grip on the deck railing. The man yanked him up and tossed him over the railing onto the next deck with a reverberating scream from Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Bill yelled, throwing his fire knife at the fat pirate as he ran forward. As the knife spun in the air it exploded in blue fire, it hit the man square in the chest, his body erupted in flames as Bill passed. He grabbed the hilt of the knife and yanked it out as he jumped over the railing and made it to the other deck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper was grabbed the moment he landed on the deck, hands pulled at his hair, arms, and neck. Dragging it towards the door that led below. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blue flames sparked in his spinning vision, he couldn’t see it clearly. Dipper screamed and fought, biting at hands that tried to silence him until he saw the unmistakable silhouette of Bill. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cap-“ Dipper began to scream as he was yanked and shoved. Someone covered his mouth with sweaty fingers, Dipper bit down as hard as he could until he heard a grunt and the hand was pulled away. He took a large gulp of air and screamed: “BILL!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill kept Pinetree in his sights, marking anyone that touched him for a fate worse than death. Anyone that came at him got a knife in their chest and their body burned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pinetrees eyes looked dazed, and his head whipped around wildly until his big brown eyes settled on Bill. He tried to scream something but someone covered his mouth. He bit the man and tried again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“BILL!” He screamed out and for a moment Bill understood what is meant to have someone be your entire world. In that moment nothing mattered more than a tiny brunette noble with tear tracks on his cheeks and nothing but hope for rescue in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“DIPPER!” Bill called back, running for him. The man holding his Pinetree was quickly dispatched with a strong arm to the face, in the same movement Bill grabbed Pinetree by his arm and pulled him close. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper surprised both Bill and himself when he wrapped his arms around the man, burying his face in the pirates chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, I wouldn’t have ever let them take you,” Bill soothed him, running his fingers through the boy's bloody hair. He whimpered and cried, saying something about having tried to fight them off with a sword. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill glared at the raging battle around him, he could feel his one black eye turning red with repressed anger. Damn he wanted to maim these pirates now but he needed Pinetree back on The Rift first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked up and spotted Amorphous ripping the ship's sails as he normally does in a battle. He whistled to the man to get his attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get my loot back aboard and hide him!” Bill yelled to the man as he seized Pinetree by the waist and hoisted him up. Tossing him up into the air with more strength than any human man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper shrieked as he was thrown into the air, so high he could have touched the ripped sails. As he started to fall he screamed anew, thinking himself sure to die. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grunted as he was caught midair by a man on a rope and they whizzed through the air. Dipper held on as best as he could to the man he soon recognized as Amorphous. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed impossible the way the man flipped and swung from rope to rope, tossing Dipper to and fro as the need be until they landed in The Rift’s crows nest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay here boy!” Then the man was gone, leaping off into the ropes again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper crawled to the ledge to watch what was going on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill turned back the fray the moment he was sure Amorphous had Pinetree safely in his arms. “AVAST, BACK ABROAD EYE BATS!” He called to the mindless men the moment he finished taking in the situation. Pyronica was on this ship, and Tad still on The Rift; perfect. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill marched back to the railing, ripping his eye patch off and stuffing it into his pocket. His red eye revealed cause men to jump out of his path screaming “demon”. Bill only waited a second for his men to get back over and then planted a foot on the Rifts railing. He pushed with all his superior might and the ships lurched, the distance between the two increasing by three fathoms. The sea roared as it rushed to fill the gap Bills strength caused, making the ships rock violently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Py!” He called to the woman fighting off three men, a grin plastered on her face. She glanced at him and Bill knew she was listening. “Lit it up! Scuttle this rotting hull!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“AYE AYE!” She cheered, always happy to burn something. Her sword began to heat from the hilt, pink fire wrapping around her as she called her magic. Men backed away from her, screaming ‘witch’ as the deck lit beneath her feet. Bill turned from her to look at Tad fighting back on The Rift. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“STRANGE! GET THAT RIFFRAFF OFF MY SHIP!” Bill ordered. The man gave a mean smile as he knew that meant no more holding back under the guise of humanity. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill watched as the tall man hovered in place before his body moved faster than an eye could track. Knocking anyone not of his crew either into the ocean, or onto the deck where their neck was quickly slit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cipher!” Bill turned to see the captain of this horrid crew. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Time Baby!” Bill gave a cruel smile, his hostility and anger barely contained. “I would have thought you smarter than attacking me, one of your own kind!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve told you not to call me that Cipher, you are no kind of mine,” Time Baby tantrumed at the silly nickname Bill had given him years ago. It wasn’t hard to see why he’d gotten that name when he behaved so. “I’ll be taking back that loot of yours, and your life too now!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“By all means, try.” Bill raised his dagger and cutlass and charged forward. Time Baby lifted his pistol and took a shot that was quickly dodged by Bill’s enhanced reflexes. His demon eye tracked the course of the bullet better than a shark tracks blood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill jumped in close, bashing the captains head with the heavy guard of his hilt. Time Baby got off another shot but not before Bill smacked his hand up, the bullet hitting the sail instead. Bill plunged his dagger into the rival captain's guts and he watched with satisfaction as the blue fire melted his eyes and lit up his insides. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a moment he was dead, turned to ash at Bill's feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was fun,” Bill laughed as the screams began, and the ship began to fully burn. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_______________________________________________________</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper leaned wearily against the broken railing of the ship. It had been hours since the attacking ship had burned into the sea. Dipper had to hold on for dear life when the ship had rocked and he’d missed what had happened to set that ship ablaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After that he’d been checked over for injuries, and held for an unreasonable amount of time first by Pyronica, and then by Bill. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper hadn’t forgotten about his deal with Bill though and had brushed off his tears, forced himself to stop shaking, and worked to find a job. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With the ship damaged he’d gotten the chance to try out being a shipwright. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it was all for not. Everything he tried either needed a strength Dipper didn’t possess, or more coordination then he could dream of. So now he felt resigned to what fate had bestowed upon him and waited for the inevitable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill and Tad were huddled around the helm talking, Bill having sent Pyronica off on a task some time ago. The sun had set so any moment Dipper knew Bill would drag him off to his cabin and he had accepted that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pinetree?” Dipper looked up and found Bill standing in front of him. He reached forward and wiped tears off of Dipper cheeks. He hadn’t even realized he was crying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” Dipper whispered, feeling hollow after the day's events and the end result of his efforts. He guessed this meant he really was as useless as Bill had said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said almost like a plea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt his face scrunch up as his stomach twisted. “I know,” Dipper whispered, his knees wobbling. They refused to hold him up any longer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill caught him as he fell into his chest, shivering and shaking from what must be intense emotional distress. Bill almost felt like the bad guy here as he pet the crying kids hair, trying to sooth him. Maybe he’d give him just one more night to come to terms with it all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here you go captain,” Pyronica’s voice suddenly broke the tender moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill turned his head to see Py had mixed up the cream he’d asked for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Bill said as he took the jar she placed it in and guided Dipper to sit on the stairs of the quarterdeck. “Pinetree, do not be alarmed but I need you to remove your shirt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper startled, eyes swinging up to the pirate in horror. Was he going to rip his modesty away too?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, Pinetree. I’m not asking for anything at the moment,” Bill sighed, wishing the boy would show the trust he had when he’d screamed Bill’s name. “I have medicine for your bruises, remove your shirt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper dried his eyes and just weighed his options. If he refused the captain would take him to the cabin and . . . Dipper shakingly reached for the buttons and striped his shirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bil sucked in a breath as the boy's milky skin and lean figure was revealed once again. Then he took in the bruises, they had grown. New bruises added and the old ones bigger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not good,” Bill tsked. “You’ve overworked yourself, not to mention the struggle you endured.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Dipper whispered, not really knowing what else to say. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill sighed and opened the jar, fishing out the cream with two fingers. “This will burn a little, but that just means it’s working okay?” He waited for Dipper to nod before smearing the cream over every bruise, rubbing it into his muscles on his back, shoulders, and neck as well. This stuff had a relaxing effect, and Pinetree certainly needed that at the moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica and Tad made themselves busy, trying not to stare at the scene going on. It was strange to them both, seeing Bill take such care of another, he hadn’t ever done that before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going anyway?” Dipper asked softly, feeling the cream heat and trying not to focus on it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tortuga, although we should be there by now,” Bill muttered, clenching his teeth. This was the fourth time they’d somehow gotten off course, his navigator had boasted about being the best of the best when they picked him up but obviously not. They’d have to replace him once they got to Tortuga, preferably someone not entirely human too. So the crew doesn’t have to hide while at sea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But aren’t we going the wrong way?” Dipper asked curiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad, Pyronica, and Bill all snapped their eyes to Dipper, watching as he looked up at the sky like he was studying it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If the stars are true then we are slightly off on our longitude,” Dipper narrowed his eyes as he looked off to the sides. “I think we’ve passed it, I believe Tortuga is that direction.” Dipper pointed towards the stern of the ship, southwest while the bow was pointed firmly southeast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dipper,” Tad stepped forward. “You can read stars?” He asked with awe, most sailors were familiar with stars but to actually read them was an entirely different matter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um yes?” Dipper looked up at him questioningly. He didn’t see the big deal, it was just one of his useless skills that he’d picked up while reading. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill felt a sour expression come over his features. Well no need to give the boy time to come to terms, it would seem he had found a use after all on the ship. Fucking hell!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“HECTORGON!” Bill yelled, waiting for the short man with a handlebar mustache to run out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper sat confused as Bill suddenly seemed to be in a terrible mood, this would not bode well for him tonight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A man ran to the quarterdeck, his face red from the sun and eyes almost completely hidden by his mustache. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes cap’n?” He asked nervously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When will we reach Tortuga?” Bill asked, seeing if he would lie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man twitched nervously and hurried up the stairs, passed Dipper and checked over the map, the compass, and up at the stars. “We should reach Tortuga in a few hours on this course,” he sighed in relief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s funny, Pinetree says Tortuga is that way,” Bill pointed off the stern. “Why’s that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hectorgon twitched, glaring over at Dipper. “He’s an airhead noble! What does he know about navigating?” The man tried to defend his directions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill's eye narrowed. “Hey Py, let’s play a game,” Bill grinned madly as he looked at the woman, she got an evil expression as well, gasping in glee. “Turn us southwest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper and Hectorgon glanced at each other, both not understanding what was happening. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye aye captain! I bet Hectorgon’s life that Dippers right!” She grinned back at him. Dipper's face whitened, understanding flowing through him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hectorgon stuttered and shook, not fully confident that he was right. He looked fit to run right of the boat in fear. The crew noticed what was happening and began shouting bets on who would be right; Dipper or Hectorgon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon Dipper could barely focus on the panicked man, the cream Bill had spread over him began to burn. It felt like hot coals were being held against his skin, Dipper moved to try to wipe the stuff off him but Bill was quickly back at his side and holding his hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, let the medicine do it’s work,” Bill told him soothingly. “You’ve really managed to bang yourself up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah Dipper,” Pyronica spoke up from the helm. “That stuff isn’t easy for me to make, don't waste it. It only hurts for a few minutes, then you’ll feel better.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper nodded, holding in a hiss. It didn’t exactly hurt, it was barely bearable though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Time passed in a slow tense silence, the ship moving steadily with the wind, they were making good time. By Dippers guess, if he was right, they’d be calling out land very soon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill paced, keeping his eye on Pinetree’s back as he sat rather docile on the stairs. After what he endured today Bill wasn’t surprised he’d be so withdrawn and quiet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had almost won! If they reached Tortuga Bill might just kill someone. Even if he was planning to give Pinetree one more night, he hadn’t wanted to lose either! This would make wooing him all the harder, especially because this meant he’d have to do the actual wooing part. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But at the very least he was still relatively unharmed. Tad had told Bill that he’d left a sword with Pinetree in case he’d needed to defend himself, the man hadn't realized that Pinetree had no experience with sword fighting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“LAND HO!” Dipper jumped at the call and looked up, just as he’d said, there was Tortuga. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked to the wide eyed Hectorgon with a withering glare. If this man had done his damn job. . . Damnit. Bill took his pistol from his belt and shot. Hectorgon felt dead on the deck and Dipper lurched, smothering a scream as he stumbled down the stairs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yo-you killed hi-him!” Dipper yelled when Bill tried to move towards him. “Stay away from me!” Dipper stumbled up and pushed himself against the railing as the crew cheered the violent end of the navigator. Wasn't that man a part of their crew? Why are they cheering?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill pouted, not liking the way Pinetree was reacting to one little execution, of course he killed someone that couldn’t do their damn job, ultimately losing him a bet. Shaking off the feeling of rejection Bill smiled like nothing bothered him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to the crew Pinetree, you’re my new navigator,” Dipper felt bile rise in his throat, this is what he had wanted. To find a job that kept him from Bill’s bed but. . . now he just wanted to go home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tomorrow you start swordplay lessons with Pyronica and myself, let’s get you to bed.” Bill advanced on Dipper faster than he could scramble away and began dragging him towards the cabin. “Before that I get to show around Tortuga! Ain’t that exciting Pinetree?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper dragged his feet, shaking his head wildly, not wanting to be alone with the man that just killed another for just making a mistake. He felt guilty for being the one to point it out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Dipper tried to shake off his hand but he was simply stronger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Py, let Teeth know he can eat Hectorgon if he wants!” Bill called as he pulled Dipper into the office and slammed the newly fixed door. Dipper was looking at him with a new found horror. “He’s a tribal cannibal, don't worry he only eats people when I give him approval,” Bill explained soothingly, missing the point of why that would horrify Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ar-are you go-going to r-rape me?” Dipper cried in whimpered breaths as Bill pulled him into the cabin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill paused, looking at the boy startled. He had seemed smart enough to remember their deal, although he was stressed so Bill would forgive the momentary stupidity. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you are a member of my crew now,” Bill said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why am I in here?” Dipper asked harshly, obviously not believing him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you are mine,” Bill hissed, grabbing the boy's arm and throwing him onto the bed. “You didn’t think I’d give up the pleasure of having you sleeping in my bed just because you found a job, did you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper fought against Bill as he climbed over him and pulled him against his hard chest, pulling the blankets over them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let go! Why should I sleep in this bed with you! You murderer!” Dipper screamed, shoving at his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you deaf or are you dumb?” Bill hissed against his ear, beyond annoyed now. “I said you're mine, that means you will be sleeping in my bed until I say. Now go to sleep,” Bill held him tighter as he closed his eye and ignored Dipper's protests. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just want to go home,” Dipper cried miserably as he soon gave up the venture of escaping the man’s arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Too bad,” Bill answered softly, his finger beginning to pet Dipper's hair again. Almost loving in the gesture. Dipper cried, smoothing his sobs with his fingers until the day caught up to him and he fell asleep. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The lies told for others</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Everyone please check out the song ‘ship in a bottle’ by Steffan Argus! It heavily inspires and fuels every chapter since a good friend sent it to me.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Bill waited until Pinetree fell asleep before carefully letting the boy go and propping himself up on his elbow to look at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed heavily as he brushed Pinetrees hair back and traced his birthmark. He’d learned nothing useful today. Pyronica’s only guess on the sapphire was something about symbolism for royalty and wisdom. She was a new aged witch, so she had no knowledge of anything druid, apparently they were completely different things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She explained Druids like the nobles of the spellworking world, all bloodlines and uppity-ness. Figures Pinetree would somehow be noble in human and witch terms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So all he’d learned was his necklace meant something about royalty and wisdom, he wasn’t exactly a witch, and no one knew anything about the birthmark! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Plus it didn’t help that whatever obsession he had for the boy kept growing while Pinetree just seemed to hate him more with every passing hour. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All he wanted was the boy to depend on him for everything and need him every single moment of the day for every tiny problem that may come up. Maybe stay completely glued to his side at all times. Was that really so wrong?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill sighed again. Tomorrow would be better, he’d show Pinetree around Tortuga, take him to get fitted for some new clothes, and then teach him to defend himself. It will be a good day filled with only the good parts of pirate life, afterwards he could take him to a tavern too! Pinetree would love the Pin &amp; Rose! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a plan fully formed to gain the boys affections Bill kissed his forehead and laid back down, gathering his small body in his arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sleep well, tomorrow I’m going to make you crazy for me,” he whispered as he finally joined Pinetree in sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel woke up in her private cabin to a horrid pain in her abdomen and she knew exactly what that meant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No no no no!” Mabel mumbled miserably. How was she to pretend to be a boy with blood dripping from her pants?! She had lost track of her cycle, completely forgotten about it with the events of the past two days. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Mabel had no idea what to do. All her supplies were at home, she hadn’t brought them since she hadn’t wanted to be exposed as a girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel had no options here, she couldn’t return to the deck come morning! And she doubted anyone on board would have menstruation rags and cotton to catch her blood through the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well there was one person that might have those things, and if the time was right she was getting off the first watch any moment! Mabel knew she really shouldn’t gtell anyone but it was Wendy, a fellow woman, she’d understand. Right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel crept out of her cabin and up the stairs to the deck, she looked out and found Wendy sitting on the bow, a spy glass in her hand. She must have come down from the crows nest in preparation for the shift change. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel hurried over, blood dripping down her leg the entire way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mason!” Wendy called cheerfully, a tiredness to her voice. “What’s up boy? Come to wish me goodnight like a little gentleman?” She teased. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need help,” Mabel cut right to the chase. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, with what?” She seemed to sense how serious it was by the pained twist of Mabel’s brow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wendy, I have lied to you,” Mabel sniffled, looking down at her brother's shoes she wore. “I am not Mason, and my womanly times come, I have nothing to hide it. I need your help.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy’s eyes grew wide, she took in the boy-girl- again and realized that once pointed out, she could see the soft features of a woman in a man’s clothes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would you do this to yourself?” Wendy gasped, jumping up and looking around to make sure no one was up and about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They took my brother,” Mabel cried, covering her face with her hands. “If I went inland, hide myself away, I feared I’d never see him again.” Mabel trembled, everything she had bottled up over the last few days came tumbling out. “Those born alone cannot understand the connection twins form between each other, if he dies alone, without me because I made him go to that gala for me. . . I do not know how I will go on. And now I am bleeding, and they will force me to go home and into hiding should any of these men realize!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay okay, shh,” Wendy pulled the crying girl into her arms and stroked her soft hair. “It’s okay.” At least now she knew why the Mason she knew kept asking about male unions and sodimy practices on pirate ships. It was because it wasn’t Mabel on that pirate ship but Mason. How toggery, the crown would be furious if they knew the male heir of the Pines family dressed as a girl for a function and then got kidnapped by pirates. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go back to your cabin, wait for me while I gather supplies, okay?” Wendy instructed the girl, she nodded. Wendy watched with concern and worry as the little thing turned and headed off back to her room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy didn’t waste any time, as soon as her replacement came she hurried off to collect a bucket of water, cotton, and several rags. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hurried to the girls cabin, no longer curious as to why she’d get her own cabin and knocked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Silence hung heavy over the two women, Wendy had cleaned her bloody thighs and helped bind her lower areas with a cotton stuffed rag so she may continue her journey of finding her brother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you-, do you switch with your brother often?” Wendy found herself asking, still reeling from this reveal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Other twins in my family do it a lot but Dipper and I weren’t permitted too because of our genders. We haven’t done it since we were children, I begged him to go to the gala for me,” Mabel explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Little rebels you two are,” Wendy chuckled, laying back on the bed with the girl. “Got to admit, it’s weird to hear that your family does this often.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When your family is blessed to have a body double born with over half your children, they learn to use it to their advantage,” Mabel sighed. “It was always great fun to Dipper and I but to most of my family it causes great strife.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? How?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For centuries my family has traditionally named their twins with names that begin the same. Stanley and Stanford, Mabel and Mason. It’s so if the elder of us dies or doesn’t measure up we can seamlessly slip into the other's life,” Mabel sighed, cursing how cruel her family had been. Her uncles and parents had been alright but as one half of the first different gender twins she had felt the sworn of the rest of her family all her life. “Imagine going your whole life, being treated as an offshoot of your sibling, one and a half of a person. The heir and the back up, Dipper and I only narrowly escaped that. We still were given the customary matching names purely out of tradition, but we still resent it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that why you call him Dipper?” Wendy asked, taking the girl's hand. She was shaking, this topic obviously desturbed her. Even to Wendy, a reformed pirate, it sounded cruel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was my mother’s secret name for him,” Mabel smiled. Her mother had been such a kind hearted woman. “She never called him Mason unless there was company, Dipper was born with a constellation on his forehead, that’s where the name came from. She said it made him special, different, even so she never picked favorites.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She sounds like a good mother, you sure she was a noble?” Wendy teased lightheartedly. Only Mabel didn’t laugh, she looked pained. “Mabel?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honestly I’m not sure,” Mabel mumbled, turning over in the bed to stare at Wendy. “I never told Dipper but I once tried to look for her family records, most of the Pines family was so unyielding and harsh so I tried to look for my other family, hers.” Mabel licked her lips nervously, she’d never told anyone this before. “I couldn’t find any record of hers, my mother was a ghost. No lineage, no family, no explanation for how she came to be married to my father. Sometimes I lie awake and wonder why would she lie to us all our life?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy gulped, seeing the crisis on Mabel’s face. Her eyes pleading for a reason that let she keep believing her mother to be pure, keep her memory untainted. Wendy’s squeezed her hand comfortingly. “Sometimes parents lie, not because they don’t love us, but because they want to protect us. Whoever she was doesn't matter, she was your mother and she loved you and your brother. That’s all that matters.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel wrapped her arms around Wendy’s neck and squeezed. So grateful for the words of comfort and the kindness Wendy was showing her. Her uncles had been completely absent since getting on this boat and each day was like reality sunk in just a bit more. This comfort was something she had really needed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dipper, he-, he likes men,” Mabel whispered, seeing the surprise take Wendy’s face. “Do you think Cipher has. . .?”  She let the question hang. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If he is as smart and resourceful as you are, I’m sure he is fine,” Wendy tried to assure her but couldn’t say his virtue remained intact, she simply didn’t know. “If Cipher has touched him then at the very least you can know he’s alive, Captain Cipher is known for a certain respect he shows those that grace his sheets.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So he wouldn’t force anything?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I doubt Captain Cipher will marry your brother, he's promiscuous sure but he never struck me as the type to bind himself to another.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, I met him the day of the raid,” Mabel said as she sat up, pulling her long hair out from where she’d hid it and reached for a brush. “I was at a tavern pretending to be a port town girl, and he seemed charming. To me he seemed the type just waiting for the right person.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you think the great pirate Captain would choose an unwilling noble?” Wendy laughed, trying to brighten the mood. “I know you see only the good in him but I doubt he is that desirable.” Wendy in honesty wasn’t sure. If the boy could pass for a girl that meant he was pretty, and the same size as his sister. That was in fact Cipher’s type. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope you’re right,” Mabel whispered, not at ease at all as she brushed her hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will find him Mabel,” Wendy promised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you Wendy,” Mabel tried to smile but she failed, she just felt so tired of it all.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>___________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper woke up to a sight he had fantasized about since puberty. A board, tanned skinned man’s back slowly working a wet rag over his rippling muscles. That definitely didn’t help his morning. . . err, situation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt absolutely entranced as Bill rolled his shoulder and neck as he wiped himself down. His eyes tracing water droplets that caressed his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hell, skin should not be able to look so attractive with so many scars. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enjoying the show Pinetree?” Bill asked, not turning around since he didn’t have his eyepatch on but smiling madly at the scent of lust in the air and the feel of the boy's eyes on his back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper squeaked, pulling the covers over his head in reaction to getting caught. He didn’t know how he had, Bill had the mirror turned away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The husky chuckle from the man caused Dipper to lower the blanket, peeking up at the man to watch his fingers tie his eyepatch’s golden string at the back of his head. It made Dipper curious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did you lose your eye?” Dipper asked, fully expected to get snapped at like what happened with the books. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill turned around, leaning against his dresser and smirking at the boy. “My, oh my, is my little Pinetree becoming curious about me?” Bill pushed himself from the dresser to saunter over to the bed and lean over the boy. “Be careful, curiosity killed the cat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper's mouth had gone dry, he worked his mouth to try and resurrect his tongue. With a rising courage and a steely glare Dipper looked right up at him and hissed: “And satisfaction brought it back.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill hummed, for a moment a real smile coming over his face. His Pinetree was so brave and sassy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who’s says I lost my eye?” Bill asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why the eyepatch?” Dipper tilted his head, his hand reaching for it almost mesmerized by the golden glint. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill caught his hand, holding it away from the patch and instead kissing those pale freckled fingers. Pinetree drew back from him, the touch breaking the mesmerizing effect Bill sometimes exuded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The eyepatch is to hide a deformity, not a lost eye, don’t worry about it,” Bill stated with a sigh, turning away. He was proud of his life, proud of who his mother was even if he never really knew her but his eye was a sore subject that got him beaten as a child. Sent away the moment his father could without raising any questions and forced to keep it covered for most of his life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do-does it hurt?” Pinetree asked, and Bill could have swooned at the rush he felt from the concern in Pinetree’s voice. But he didn’t like this topic, he wanted it to stop and never talk about it again. Only good things today!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told you, don’t worry about it,” Bill smiled icily back at him, his voice chipped and firm. “Now, get up! We have lots to do today, we’re going to go shopping and then to a bathhouse!” Bill excitedly told his Pinetree. His emotions flipped quicker than a tide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper gulped, shaking himself out of the odd trancelike state he’d been in, and curled in on himself. “I do not want to do any of that with you,” Dipper told him, especially not a bathhouse. That sounded so indecent! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill huffed, moving quickly to take the boy by the chin and lift his face up. “You do not have a choice,” Bill said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill turned on his heel and jerked a shirt from his closet and pulled it on with an angry disposition. He grabbed up his red coat, and hat before marching out. “Get on deck before I come drag you out!” He yelled, slamming the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper watched the door for a moment, befuddled by the man’s quickly changing behaviors and not really knowing how to deal with this new reality. He was now a navigator on a pirate ship, and apparently he ‘belonged’ to the captain. Whatever that meant!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper quickly got up and looked down at himself, he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday, the blue vest now ripped and the breaches stained with droplets of blood. Not to mention the stains from the food he had spilled on himself. He curled his lip in disgust for sleeping in clothes he had sweated in for an entire day, he looked around for replacements but there was none. Bill had relocked the closet and left without even allowing Dipper to change! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper moved to the mirror and looked himself over, his hair was a curly mess on his head. His birthmark peeking out, it was like someone had been fluffing up his bangs while memorizing it. Dipper used his fingers to brush it out and hide the mark once again, hoping Bill hadn't noticed it. Last thing he needed was for Bill to know all his insecurities and weaknesses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soot from the fire covered his face, showing off how much he’d cried that night with the tear tracks. With a sigh Dipper grabbed the used rag and cleaned his face at the very least. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He really didn’t feel like cleaning the rest of himself, his hair was a mess and his clothes were wrinkled and stained so what was the point? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guess I’ll go on the deck,” Dipper sighed, reaching for the person he’d been just days ago that was calmly planning to kill a man that paid a pirate to kidnap his sister. He felt so weak, just accepting everything that was happening around him. “Today will be different,” Dipper promised himself. He needed a plan, a way back home. He needed to warn his family about Gideon, and keep Mabel safe and he had been too concerned about himself yesterday. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t actually sure if his uncles adhered to the family protocol. And even if they did there is no way Mabel isn’t putting up a fight. She was probably doing her utmost to get to the sea to rescue him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He needed to get to her, warn their family. Protect her before anything can harm her. God, she probably thought him dead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on Mabel.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill was hanging a jib again, Tad had never seen the man struggle so much romantically before. Sure all his lovers weren’t completely willing but he always managed to get some form of consent fairly quick. But he was fumbling here, his bet with the boy must have knocked him off balance especially since the boy had actually won. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m betting 50 shillings with Amorphous that the Captain marries the boy, you want in on the pool?” Pyronica whispered as she also watched the man pace in front of his office door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think he’ll marry Dipper?” Tad chuckled, looking at the woman indifferently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Completely, he’s already halfway in love, he just hasn’t realized it yet,” Pyronica grinned happily. “Think on it, when has he ever tried to be this accommodating before? Trying to get the boy's sister just so he’ll be happy, planning on setting him up on our island, all of it is just to be able to keep him close. And then his quest to figure out the boy's birthmark! It’s just an excuse to get to know him better.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Point taken, but he always loses interest eventually,” Tad said thoughtfully. “I doubt it will get that far.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, something feels different this time,” Pyronica hushed her voice as Bill joined them on the quarterdeck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s Pinetree’s problem?!” Bill growled as he crossed his arms and continued pacing in his new spot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Tad asked, trying not to sound too invested. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I plan a whole date for us and he says he ‘doesn’t want to do any of that with you’ like an ungrateful brat!” He mimicked Dipper's voice, making his voice higher than normal. “Why doesn’t he get what I’m offering?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Pyronica looked to him, raising a brow. “Have you ever told him what you're offering?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad nodded, seeing a good point when presented. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Bill stopped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you ever told him that you want him to find freedom and happiness in pirate life? Even told him your plans for if your relationship fails? Does he even know you want a relationship, or have you just been ordering him around while calling him yours?” Tad asked each question, watching as Bills face turned red. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t just expect him to read your mind Bill, if you want it to work you have to communicate,” Pyronica sighed, frustrated that her captain could be so blind when it came to relationships. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m an incubus! I think I know how to woo my soon to be lover!” Bill snapped defensively. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Knowing how to get men in bed doesn’t mean you’re a love expert Bill,” Tad said seriously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sex leads to love! I’ll have him in the palm of my hand by the end of the day,” Bill puffed out his chest proudly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is so not how it works, Bill be serious for a moment. Has that ever worked for you?” Pyronica begged for the answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill stuck out a lip and glared at his shoe. “No.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad shared a look with Pyronica. They both wanted to help, Bill was the reason they had such a charmed life. They wanted him to have what he wanted most so they would endeavor to help him. “Try, just for today, not making everything about sex, okay?” Tad spoke slowly, knowing this went against Bill's nature but knowing it would help the boy grow closer to Bill. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just for today,” Pyronica cut Bill’s protest, that he tried to yell, off. “Ask questions about him, tell some things about yourself. Have a conversation that doesn’t include your lust. Just try it and if it doesn’t work then go back to what you were doing.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked like he was thinking about it seriously. Then the office door opened and a head of brown locks peaked out. Bill was racing away like he was a dog and his master had just called. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you are right Py,” Tad laughed, watching the way Bill wrapped an arm around Dipper's shoulders and grinned happily down at him. “I put 100 shillings on them marrying.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill hung off Dipper’s shoulder, almost making him fall over with his weight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will you get off of me!” Dipper tried to yell but came out as more of a whine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m just flirting,” Bill whispered against his ear huskily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not flirting, it’s assault!” Dipper bit back, shoving the man off him. It was that moment that Dipper’s stomach decided to growl loudly. Bill and Dipper didn't say anything for a moment before he looked over the side of the ship to check their docking situation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get this gangplank lowered!” He shouted. “Don’t worry Pinetree, we can break your fast in town today!” Bill announced. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you have to make sure preparations are done? Aren’t you a captain?” Dipper asked, trying to draw attention away from his red face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s why I have a Quarter-master,” Bill smirked up at Tad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, dump all the work on me,” Tad yelled back, a tired yet content sigh on his lips. “Go enjoy your date.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is not a-AH!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go!” Bill grabbed Dippers hand and started to drag him down the lowered plank in the middle of his angry snap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper grumbled to himself but knew it was useless arguing with Bill so just let him lead the way to food, he was very hungry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_______________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill happily led Dipper into his favorite tailor shop, breakfast had been a quiet affair but Bill counted it a success considering Dipper hadn’t pushed him away when he’d sat close at the little pub. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d been in a great mood since he’d taken the boys hand on the ship and he hadn’t pulled away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt that if he rolled his eyes again they would fall out, Bill had been chattering on about mindless things since taking his hand on the ship. He decided it wasn’t worth the fight to pull away so just allowed the contact. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are going to love my tailor, he makes everything I wear,” Bill was borderline skipping as he led Dipper towards a shabby building with only a stitched up heart on the sign. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh so you wish to dress me in the same bad taste as you, sounds wondrous,” Dipper drawled. So far Tortuga looked like a storm had ransacked it, like a shipwreck had washed ashore and people had decided to use the broken pieces to slap together a town. It was in a word: ugly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Practically no greenery grew on the barren little port, if you could even call it that, and if something did grow it was weeds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Smoke and steam from a large bathhouse permanente the air offensively, smelling of cheap perfumes and soup. The scent of it all clung to the underlined smell of piss, rum, and human waste. Dipper's first instinct was to cover his nose but unfortunately he was getting used to the smell the longer Bill dragged him around showing off his favorite inn’s, taverns, and the latest being the tailor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill threw back his head and laughed at Dippers quip. “I find I could fall for that sharp tongue of yours,” Dipper ended up rolling his eyes once again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And here I assumed you liked my tongue for other uses,” Pinetree’s voice was filled with sarcasm and a weariness that was so becoming on him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill stalled for just a moment, his mind wanting to say: ‘I could show you how to use a tongue like yours’ but Tad had been certain that his hyper sexual flirting was keeping the boy from truly trusting him. So Bill felt a conflict grip his chest. Before long the moment had passed and Bill ended up saying nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are we going to go in?” Dipper asked when Bill stopped them outside the tailor and he was just staring with a blank face. It was like he’d lost his entire train of thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh right, yes,” Bill coughed and opened the door with a flourish, getting back in step with his regular self. “Right this way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay then,” Dipper muttered, looking at Bill strangely. He hadn’t been thinking when he’d quipped such a suggestive remark, but it was so weird that Bill hadn’t jumped on it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stitchy dear! Where are you?” Bill cooed the moment he stepped into the building. The inside was much nicer than the outside. Bolts of fabric lined the walls and pre-made clothes hung on nails stuck into the walls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Captain William,” a dark haired man stepped out from the back and rounded the desk. “Don’t tell me you’ve ruined all your clothes again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill pouted. “Why would you assume that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because you only call me that when you're about to have me make an entire wardrobe,” the man sighed in a bored tone. His hair was long, tired back in a flat and stringy ponytail. His face had scars from puberty but he wasn’t unattractive. Although his clothes were the nicest looking thing about him. A black overcoat with lovely polished buttons and a pin with his stitched heart logo on his lapel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything was pressed and perfectly sewn, no wonder Bill swore by him for clothes if this was an example of his work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be like that Stitch Heart, I didn’t ruin your masterful outfits,” the man raised a brow sceptically. “I just need a wardrobe for Pinetree here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man glared before giving a defeated sigh. “How much time are you giving me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can stay a few days if you can just send over everything to the ship as you complete it,” Bill shrugged before pushing Pinetree closer to the desk. He had shrunk into himself, awkward and shy at the way the dark haired man looked him over with a discerning eye. “And something for him to wear today if you can.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm, alright. What colors would he like? style too,” The man asked, walking around the counter to pick at Dipper’s ruined vest and shirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He looks best in blue, silver, gold. You can throw in some creams and browns to give it some diversity,” Bill answered for Dipper, he growled under his breath, he hated being spoken for. “For style I trust your decision.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, do you want to just leave him here while I do the measurements?” Dipper froze, his heart jumping with hope that Bill would leave him alone. Then he could try to get to the French governor's manor, get some help home! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No way, that Frenchman might be useless and gutless but I can’t have Pinetree running off to him. I’d hate to massacre anyone today,” Bill grinned, bending down to nuzzle at Dipper's ear. Dipper batted him away, upset that his half cocked plan had been called out so quickly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” the dark haired man looked between them before his eyes widened. “Is this that noble I heard you stole? I had heard it was a girl, but now I see why you haven’t been seen abandoning a noble, it was a pretty young man. Just your type,” Dipper flushed brightly for a number of reasons. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill chuckled, playing with Dippers hair as he fumed silently. “‘Best brother ever’ here took his sister's place when we came for her. Aren’t twins exciting?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we not talk about my time spent in a dress, it’s already the most humiliating two days of my life without you two gabbing about it!” Dipper snapped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Feisty, I guess I know why William has kept you around,” the man nodded. “Bill you can wait out here, maybe pick out some things that are premade for the boy.” The man took Dipper’s by the shoulders and began navigating him towards the back room. “I’ll be out with his measurements soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill waved them away, leaning against the table without a care. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper breathed out in relief when the curtain connecting the two rooms fell and he could think again. He didn’t know why but he couldn’t seem to keep his guard up around the man today. He kept saying weirdly suggestive things or pulling too close to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And that wasn’t the only weird thing, now that his mind was clear Dipper could finally think about how odd everything that had happened truly was. There was Amorphous who bent his body around ropes in an impossible manner, Tad who sometimes seemed to appear from nowhere, and then Bill. So many strange things happened around Bill, his mind went back to the fuzzy image of blue flames erupting around Bill after he’d been hit in the head during the attack and subsequent rescue. Everything about him was strange and his crew was just as strange. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m guessing you are used to fine silks, Bill pays me well so I’ll get as close to what you’re used to as I can,” the man muttered as he directed Dipper to strip down for measurements. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As much as it pains me to accept a gift from him, I am looking forward to having my own clothes again,” Dipper wiggled his aching feet. “And some shoes.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I bet you are, don't worry Captain William takes care of his lovers-,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not his lover!” Dipper snapped at the man. “You will watch how you speak to me! I may be under his thumb now but as soon as I escape I will bring hellfire down on this place!” Dipper angrily promised, sick to death of everyone assuming he was Bill’s whore!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Calm yourself,” the man snapped back. “First off, there is no escape when William sets his eyes on you, so give that up now. Second, don’t threaten me,” the dark haired man growled down at him. Dipper kept his gaze, not backing away and not showing fear. What did he have to fear when Bill, the most terrifying man on the seas, wanted him unharmed? Dipper knew how to use others to his advantage better than most. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man sighed when Dipper didn’t do anything other than glare. “I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, I’m Robbie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper raised a brow but then gave a slight nod of his head. “Dipper,” he introduced himself with a hard edge to his voice. “9th Marquess of England.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is your title supposed to scare me?” He asked dryly as he bent down to start measuring the length of Dipper’s arms, forcing him to spread out his arms for him to work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is, and it normally works,” Dipper huffed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well you aren’t in England anymore, and you should consider trading that title for being named Williams lover. It will keep you safer than the one you have now,” Robbie told him pointedly, Dipper flushed. Why did everyone want him to sleep with the freaking pirate?! “Being recognized as someone he’ll protect is better than being a target for ransom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m plenty safe, thank you,” Dipper stuck up his nose. He didn’t want to play this card but he wanted this topic to end. “I’m sure Captain William will protect his navigator.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Robbie's eyes widened a fraction before a soft smile quirked up his lips. “Impressive, I guess I underestimated you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When you look as I do you grow used to it,” Dipper informed him as his measuring moved to his legs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man actually laughed, nodding his head like he understood his conflict well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When I first met William I got the same treatment,” Dipper gasped, something ugly in his chest coiling. “but I hold no attraction to men, and I hold a useful skill. If you don’t wish to share his bed then I warn you to never run out of usefulness.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper gapped at the man. “I am not attracted to him either!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should learn to lie better, but that would be pointless,” Robbie chided him. “If I can tell you're attracted to him, then he most definitely can as well. Rumor has it that Cipher can smell it on a man.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper puffed out a nervous laughing breath, his fingers trembling. “He’s just a man, that’s ridiculous.” He wasn’t going to fight him on the lying bit, he had lied. Unfortunately Bill was an extremely handsome man, woman and men would fall for him the world over, Dipper included. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Dipper had his pride, he wouldn’t just fall into bed with anyone just because of their looks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, whatever makes you feel better,” Robbie chuckled at him. “Just be careful, that ship isn’t natural.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper rolled his eyes but in his mind he felt a slight panic take him. Could there be something more to the crew of the Rift? It was impossible wasn’t it? He wasn’t a kid that dreamed of the strange and unusual anymore because that was all just sailor talk, he’d grown up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But his mind kept replaying those words, </span>
  <em>
    <span>rumor has it that he can smell it on a man</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it made him think of all the strange things he’d seen on the ship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why had the ship rocked so violently? What had caused that blue flame?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper shook the thoughts away, he felt silly for ever considering something beyond the explainable. He wasn’t a child, his dreams and fantasies had died long ago. There was nothing unnatural about that ship, just an unusual and handsome man with an enthusiastic crew. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nothing strange at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_______________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“One day we’ll escape to the harbor!” Mabel grinned at her brother, holding her stick that she had snuck into his room aloft like a sword. “And we will sail the seas, the dastardly twin Pines!” She cried, swishing her stick at Dippers head and making him duck. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey! Watch it!” Dipper laughed at his sister's antics. “Do you even know what dastardly means?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well. . . No! But that’s what we will be!” She declared. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And we will collect knowledge right? I want to fill our cabin with books from across the world!” Dipper indulged in the fantasy, in the escape from his overused room. He rarely even saw the sun, his father afraid to let him even experience a sunburn. The doctor said his body was weak so instead he indulged in the dream future his sister spoke of. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Of course! And we will find mermaids, and dragons,” she grinned, still swinging her stick around. “And fairies! We’re going to see it all Dip!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dipper gazed across his room, bars over his windows so he couldn’t possibly fall. Books on politics so he could become the perfect politician, the perfect noble. Bare walls and perfectly made up . . . well, everything. Not a touch of individuality so he could be shaped into the perfect puppet in his family's name. They took no chances with an heir with no usable double. And Dipper smiled faintly: “yeah, let’s see it all.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel gave a gentle sigh as she came out of the memory, gazing across the sea. Her brother was out there somewhere, out on a sea that she once promised held the freedom denied to them. What a fabulous lie that had turned out to be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t freedom, this was a vast cage keeping them apart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel gripped the railing until she heard a creak in the wood. She was sick of being controlled, she was sick of seeing her brother's life constricted to the point he had to become someone she didn’t recognize! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their whole lives had been pretending, she hated it all. No one asked her if she wanted a life of boredom and ballrooms, sure she loved the pomp and frills of it all. The secrets and the culture, but it had quickly become dull after she realized her words would never truly hold any weight. Every choice made for her and her brother a puppet for the lawyers and handlers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was too smart to be a puppet, and he was too precious to her life to be lost to pirates!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel honestly didn’t know what she’d do if they didn’t reach him, it had finally all set in. Her brother could well be changed when, or even if, she got him back, he might not be the same boy that held himself like the perfect noble while planning an escape to the sea with her, even while both knew it would never happen. It was all just a dream. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because the truth of the world was that there were no fairies, no mermaids, and no magic. At least not for the Pines twins, they did not have the luxury to dream. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mab-Mason,” Wendy called for her and Mabel turned away from the sea to look at the woman. “Come, a ship is flagging us. Your uncles want you to keep low.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay Wendy,” Mabel moved to her side, glancing curiously at the ship heading towards them. “What is their intent?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know, looks like a naval ship, your uncles worry it might be that Gleeful fellow,” Wendy explained as she’d was gently corralled somewhere she couldn’t be easily spotted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gideon? The man that tried to have me kidnapped and got my brother is this situation?” Mabel screeched, reaching for her sword at her hip. “How come we are not attacking yet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because this is a merchant ship, and that is a military vessel!” Wendy lurched forward and forced Mabel’s sword back into the scabbard. Wendy pushed her to duck down behind some barrels. “He probably knows your brother is a boy by now. If he is truly the one that paid those pirates, then he won’t attack. He’ll fish for information about where you are, that’s why he can’t see you, then he will know that you didn’t go inland.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel bit her lip but nodded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He will hang for this treason Mabel, but it would be a fool's errand to engage him in a sea battle,” Wendy assured her in a hushed voice. “Stay hidden now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy marched away towards the Stan’s, they looked to be worrying over the possibility of a confrontation with a navy vessel. If Gideon decided to attack they didn’t have enough sailors that had ever experienced a fight in order to win, let alone escape. And then there was Mabel to worry about, it was almost guaranteed that the man knew that Dipper was with Cipher so if he saw Mabel even by chance he’d know it was her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dammit this is so confusing,” Wendy huffed out. Why did it have to be twins, opposite gender twins pretending to be each other, it was too much for a simple sailor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Orders sir?” Wendy asked Stan, he was her captain not Ford. It wasn’t that she had an issue with him but the two had been fighting for so long that it just felt weird for her to see them sailing together. Normally Ford goes off on his own ship, leaving them all alone in favor for his studies. He very rarely visited and it had been that way for nearly five years, it was how they all preferred it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Make it seem like we’re friendly, but we should be ready for attack. Have the sails ready to get out of here full speed,” Stan nodded to her as the navy ship got closer and lined up their ship for boarding. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye aye,” Wendy sprinted away to deliver the orders as quickly and quietly as possible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ford looked to his brother, they’d been estranged for half their lives until word came that they were the last family to their niece and nephew. Even after they’d made up with each other five years ago they never spent much time together, their families treatment had made being friends with each other impossible. How could you be friends with someone that was raised to be your replacement? Then they’d had to come together, to rewrite the sin of their family and protect Dipper and Mabel, give them the ability to be themselves that they never got before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They fell into this similar thinking without ever really talking about it. It was a silent pact, it helped that Dipper and Mabel were so like him and Stanley when they were children. Dreaming of a life of escape on the seas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stanley’s face was hard, his eyes drawn and dark with a perpetual anger that had plagued him since Dipper was taken from them. He understood, Dipper was especially smart, Ford couldn't help falling in love with him as his sudo-parent. He believed Stanley felt the same. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told him that Pines stick together,” Stanley growled gruffly, pushing himself away from the railing. “That was the last thing I said to him, but it’s a lie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not our parents, or our siblings but it’s not a complete lie,” Ford tried to make the man feel better. “We found each other again, and those kids stick together alright. Our family became cold but their branch of the family brought warmth back to the Pines. I give credit to their mother, she never saw us as interchangeable and I doubt she ever looked at them that way either.” Ford followed Stanley as he moved to the gangplank. Waiting for the little shit that would dare try to break up their family. “We will get him back, he’s stronger than anyone gave him credit for.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Stanley hissed. “But he’s just a boy, and that girl doesn’t deserve to wear the guilt so plainly on her face. If anything we didn’t see how deeply Gleeful’s obsession went. We were supposed to be their protectors!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ford winced at the accusation in his words. They were both to blame, they didn’t protect Mabel from Gleeful, they left to help the town instead of staying with them when the pirates attacked, Ford didn’t even recognize that necklace that had been put around Dipper’s throat. And the gravest sin of all: Ford hadn’t ended Bill Cipher all those years ago, preventing this from ever happening in the first place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then we will make up for it, by saving him; saving them.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stanley! Stanford! My, It’s wonderful to see you two!” The sixteen year old naval captain gasped in fake enthusiasm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr Gleeful, I expect more respect from an officer of the Kings Navy,” Ford stepped forward when Stanley tensed like he was going to blow up at the man. Stanley was an excellent trickster until it came to those he cares about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh I didn’t realize you still were owed respect after willingly giving up your titles,” the boy quipped back with a snark smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ford glared down at him, he had lived a long time. He’d given up royalty, he’d traveled the world, he’d been a pirate for a time, and he’d known disrespect but something about this kid made him want to punt him off the side of the gangplank where they met in the middle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want boy?” Stanley spoke up. “No doubt you’ve noticed we're on a hunt for our missing neph-niece.” Ford startled at the small slip, hoping desperately that Gleeful didn’t recognize it. He would be expecting them to keep the knowledge that Dipper had crossdressed secret, they needed any advantage that they could get. So they needed Gideon to believe they didn’t know that he knew they searched for Dipper, not Mabel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes I heard of your missing young twin, I set off to find her as soon as I could,” he took off his hat and held it against his chest with a mockering of grief. “When I saw your ship I thought it appropriate to ask how the other is holding up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ford narrowed his eyes. Of course he hadn’t given up on kidnapping Mabel. He must have figured out what the Pines family would do if a twin disappeared, he’s trying to trick them into giving up her location. “Mason,” Ford forced the name out even if it hurt his heart. “Is holding up fine, he’s a strong young man and can handle anything,” Ford might have spoken a little too purposely, his words underlining that no matter what he’d done to Dipper, the boy would hold out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gideons eye twitched. “Of course, I’m sure you’ve been making arrangements to send him back to England, since it is so unsafe here,” Gideons eyes glinted with a much too confident cunning. “It’s such a tragedy, I’d like to offer my services to the journey. I will escort him back for you,” Gideon was doing an awful job at hiding the small smirk on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stan decided at that moment to enrage the boy and lie. “Unfortunately you’re too late, our families practice was too wide spread so we decided to put him on a ship the night of the pirate attack. No doubt he is already out of the Caribbean,” Stan almost lost his composure when Gideons eyes flashed with rage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” he hissed out, his voice filled with a darkness that made Ford stiffen. This young man was dangerous, insane, he could tell by experience that he wasn’t too far from going on account. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for your offer though, it is very kind but I believe your services are of better use patrolling the ports for the pirates that attacked,” Ford quickly put forward. Wanting this to end so they could get to Tortuga and get Dipper before this boy figured out their lie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wouldn’t be hard to check ports and realize that no ship holding a Pines left Gravity Falls port. They didn’t have a lot of time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Gideon muttered angrily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel listened to the conversation from behind the water barrels, feeling herself shake from an intense fury she’d never known before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How dare he? How dare he pretend to care about the state of her family, about Dipper’s safety when he obviously fed him to the sharks that were pirates. A week ago she had been afraid to hurt his feelings, now she was barely holding herself back from jumping over these barrels and demanding information on her brother. She wanted to plunge her blade in his gut, she had never felt such intense hatred before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She knew she should have listened to her instincts, the blackness she had felt from the naval captain back when she’d met him had been true. Her mother had once told her to listen and trust the feelings she felt about other people, after a butler had tried to touch her, proving that she hadn’t been irrationally afraid of him. But after she had died Mabel stopped trusting those instincts, and Gideon had her brother taken from her, she couldn’t help but feel at fault. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yet those feelings hadn’t helped her with Mr Strange, or any of the crew she’d met in the tavern. She’d only sensed their murderous auras near the end of the night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But that was neither here nor there, her feelings and senses were no longer important because William Cipher and Gideon Gleeful had already enacted their evil will against her and her family. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel couldn’t stand the hiding, she needed to see him. See the man that would whisper to her about how her choice didn’t matter when Dipper had turned away, look upon the boy she had once felt sympathy for, and send all her hate at the monster that wished to steal her away and took her brother from her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel reached up, shaking fingers grasping the edge of the barrel. She pulled herself up to just barely peak over it towards the gangplank. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We are in a rush, so thank you for your concern, but we must head off,” She heard Ford say, dismissing the young captain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, we will search toward the ports leading out of the Caribbean then,” Gideon said and Mabel felt acid rise in her throat. He just wouldn’t give up, would he? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel glared at him as he turned and marched back to his ship and the gangplank was raised with Ford and Stan’s return. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel watched Gideon as he turned to glare at the Stan O’ war, she felt as if she could see the blistering anger he kept hidden so well behind clenched fat fingers. As the ships passed Mabel’s eyes widened as she met his ice blue eyes. She hadn't meant too, it just happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They held gazes for a moment and Mabel could see the realization over take him right before she ducked down and hid again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” she cussed and looked around widely for Wendy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Someone needed to warn them that their cover was blown, Gideon knew she was here!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>________________________________________________________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill didn't often make mistakes, and he didn’t often realize how stupid a plan is after already going through with it, but today he could say that: he was an imbecile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pinetree has been responding well to not having Bill jump on him with sexual innuendos, so why the hell did he think bringing the boy to a bathhouse was a good idea?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill didn’t think he was strong enough for this, not when they were led to a private room, per his request, and they had to strip their clothes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pinetree had his shoulder curved in, holding his towel he’d been given like it was a lifeline, or a shield. He had his head down and turned away with red coloring his cheeks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill watched his tiny adam's apple bob as he gulped, shaken and scared obviously. Bill gulped himself, this was a stupid idea but he couldn’t leave him alone in here. If anyone was taking Pinetree’s first time it would be him, so he had to be safeguarded in any moments of weakness until then! And alone in a bathhouse? That was just asking for someone to take Bill’s prize. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-,” Dipper tried to speak, to oppose this situation. After the tailor Bill had picked out an outfit for him to wear for the day. Robbie was going to make the necessary alterations and have it sent to the bathhouse. “Bill, can you please turn around?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill hadn't even realized he was staring, the shake of Pinetree’s small shoulders was just so beautiful. Normally he wouldn’t turn, normally he’d demand his lover to strip for him but this boy wasn’t his lover yet. He was his navigator, and Bill needed to be delicate here. “Alright,” Bill gulped again and turned away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He listened to the rustle of fabric and Bill couldn't help but imagine those fragile fingers unbuttoning his vest and rolling it off his shoulders to drop by his bare feet. He could feel himself react to the image in his head of skin slowly being revealed as Pinetree let his shirt flutter to the ground. His lithe frame becoming uncovered as he probably peaked back over his shoulder to make sure Bill was still turned away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill had to bite his finger to keep in a noise his throat unwillingly released when he realized that Pinetree must have to bend over to untie the lacings of his brechers. In his mind those legs would be soft, healthy, and milky pale as he stepped out of his knickers and ripped stockings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh gods,” Bill gasped, staggering a bit when he accidentally bit through the skin of his finger. He was going to kill Strange, this was a terrible plan! Why today, why did he have to make this stupid plan today?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bill?” Dipper asked when he saw the man stagger. He’d wrapped the towel around his chest, hiding as much skin as possible in the little wooden changing room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes Pinetree?” Bill said with a small wobble to his words, a little caught off guard by how close he was to falling apart. He blamed not having shore leave for a while, it had been a bit since he’d last relieved himself, which wasn't good when you're an incubus. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m ready,” Dipper flushed down at his feet. He felt so uncomfortable. Bill looked over his shoulder and for a moment Dipper wondered why he seemed to be hiding his lower body but quickly let it go in favor of tightening the towel around himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill grimaced down at his hardness, knowing that if Pinetree saw it he’d try to run from the room. Stupid human body with an inhuman mind, never does what he wants. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I've paid for this whole bath, just go out that door and it leads straight to the open bath,” Bill instructed Pinetree, holding his towel at his waist to hide his physical reaction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper tilted his head, having expected the man to use this to try and force him into sex but instead it almost seemed like the captain was giving him space to feel comfortable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Dipper turned, blushing for a different reason as he headed for the bath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d heard about these bathhouses. Chinese sailors insisted upon them, but his handlers had reacted like they were indecent. So far Dipper didn’t see much wrong with them, it was actually nice how clean it all was for a bathhouse on a pirate fort. When he’d first come in he’d been suspicious of the curtained off small round and deep baths lining the walls, Dipper had seen more of men that he’d rather have seen none of, but Bill had thrown down a large bag of coins and announced that he’d be taking the back room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper could hear a persistent </span>
  <em>
    <span>drip, drip, drip</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the steamy hallway, and the pitter patter of his own feet on the moist wood, it was so quiet. He was actually amazed when he entered the large open air bath. A wooden round bath that could hold twenty people was built into the floor of the room. Buckets lined the walls with steaming water to wash oneself before entering the nice clean water. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d expected it to be dirty but it looked almost pristine under the sunlight shining through the many layered tarps that was the roof of the area. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was stamped with a feeling of freedom and expression by the multitude of paintings along the wooden walls. It was like people had been encouraged to just add whatever they felt like to the walls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper looked around for someone that must attend the bath, making sure it stays hot and clean but there was no one. Quickly before Bill followed Dipper hurried to one of the buckets and dropped his towel on a little bench. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grabbed up a slab of soap that smelled of lavender and dunked it into a bucket before scrubbing himself down. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Once he was satisfied that he’d gotten every inch of himself scrubbed he dumped the bucket over his head and ran for the bath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill finally got his member in line and just barely caught a glimpse of a very naked Pinetree sinking into the bath, causing his problem to arise again. It looked like he’d be bathing with the towel around his waist then. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite his problem Bill found it so cute the way Dipper squeaked when noticing him and dunked down into the water to hide himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trying to get a handle on himself Bill forced his eyes away and walked to the buckets, taking the soap and washing himself down. Weeks at sea left grime and salt in places he didn’t want to think of. Bill enjoyed being clean, and he liked his crew to be the same. He did not believe it was a coincidence that his ship had less diseases. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper bit his lip as he got a revise of the show he awoke to that morning. Bill's muscles rippled as he washed himself, for some reason keeping his towel tied around his waist. Was he doing it for Dipper’s own comfort? Did he recognize how uncomfortable Dipper was with his own attraction to him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was somehow sweet in a way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper turned away, curling into himself on the seats within the water. To distract himself he took one of the provided rags and absentmindedly ran it over his healing bruises. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill bit his lip as he felt Dippers eyes on his back again. He had to physically hold in what he so badly wanted to say, to tease. He dumped the bucket over his head and took a breath to center himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could do this, he could have a bath with a pretty young boy and not try to fuck him. He could do that, people do that all the time! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill quickly got into the water, he couldn’t risk Dipper noticing the effect he had on his southern parts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper was stiff, his shoulders hunched and his eyes staring straight down. He was just glad the water was milky from soap and heat so he couldn’t see even more of Bill and vice versa. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked over the boy, eyeing the lightning bruises. Py’s medical balm worked wonders on his body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How is your body feeling?” Bill asked, watching Pinetree flinch at being addressed. “I mean pain wise?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Dipper whispered. That strange fog was rolling over his mind again and he almost said something far too suggestive to the man! “I’m still a bit sore, but otherwise I’m feeling a lot better.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Py’s balms work wonders,” Bill nodded, he felt . . . awkward, he was never awkward! He was Bill Cipher, he was smooth and suave and could get any man he set sights on! What the hell was this task Tad had set him on doing to him?! “Um,” Bill coughed. “Would you like me to try and rub out some of the stiffness?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper whipped his head around, the captain was flushed. Looking away like he hadn’t just asked to close the distance between them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper tried to grasp onto his fear and anger from the day before but everything felt foggy. Instead of telling him to piss off Dipper found himself nodding slowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned his back to the captain and waited. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill gulped, he had not expected Pinetree to agree! It had just slipped out! With a reverence that he’d never given anything before Bill reached for the boy’s shoulders and laid his hands on him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pinetree jumped slightly but as Bill began to massage his sore muscles he melted into the water, eyes sliding shut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was such a strong willed kid, but he was still a kid. So trusting and soft. For just a moment Bill thought of what he’d do to anyone that dared harm the purity that was his Pinetree and he became furious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” Dipper forced out, feeling like they needed to talk of literally anything or else he’d sink into frustrated madness. “Where are you from, Captain? I feel as if I know nothing about you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill managed not to freeze up in surprise at the boy asking of him. Bill shook away his lust and odd possessive anger and got himself back on track. He was supposed to be figuring out Pinetrees connection to Druids. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Egypt,” Bill answered honestly. “Tell me about your childhood sickness,” he countered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well that’s a topic change,” Dipper muttered, not realizing that Bill had overheard that conversation. “I’m afraid that no one knew much about it. The sickness is still unnamed and I just got better two weeks later, after that I was rarely allowed out. The doctors said I was too weak to even be out in the sunlight for long.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Bill hummed, working his knuckles into Pinetree’s back and sliding down to work the knots from along his spine. Dear god, he had such a soft and supple body. “Doesn't sound like a very good doctor, can’t believe he healed you.” Bill suspected that this doctor didn’t do anything, it was someone else that healed him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh he didn’t,” Just as Bill thought. Dipper let his head lull to the side, he’d never felt so relaxed. “No one did, from what I gather from the stories my mother took me up her tower and prayed over me for two weeks. No one saw her, me, or Mabel in that time. No one was allowed near my mother’s workroom, not even my father.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill paused. That certainly didn’t sound normal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your mother sounds truly. . . blessed,” he stretched out the word. “Her parents must have been special, what were they like?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Dipper admitted softly. “They died before I was born, she always said my father was her hero. He saved her from the men that had sacked her home, who killed her parents.” Dipper frowned, the Pines family had always been so unyielding. He’d often wished to meet his mother's family. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” Bill narrowed his eyes at the back of the boy's wet hair. He so wished he could just shift through his memories, see it for himself. It would be much quicker if that were possible. “How did they meet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper smiled faintly. “My father was heading to one of our properties and he heard screaming from the wood. He ran out, pistol at the ready and found a group of men attacking my mother. He rescued her and found out she was a Scottish lord's daughter, he said he fell for her the moment he saw her. He knew that by virtue of being taken by these men anywhere alone that she’d be considered ruined and would have no one to protect her so they headed to the nearest church and he married her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill knew instantly that the story was incomplete, there was no way that was all that happened but he doubted Pinetree was privy to the information. He seemed relaxed and willing to speak so Bill changed direction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell me how you learned to read stars,” he hummed in a low voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, boredom really. Additionally I have reason to love the stars, I guess I was just more motivated than most.” Prefect! Bill was about to bridge the gap into asking about his birthmark when Dipper’s stomach decided to speak. Instantly Bill let the question he was about to ask drop. It wasn’t as important as feeding his Pinetree. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill chuckled, not being able to resist running a finger down the boy's spine. “Let’s get you some lunch.” </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. When A Spell Breaks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>addlepate- "An inconsiderate foolish fellow."</p><p>hang in chains- "A vile, desperate fellow.”</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mabel hadn’t found Wendy by the time the boom of a cannon rattled her ears. She lost her balance when wood splintered and the sail was yanked to catch the wind, shooting the ship forward. She went tumbling to the deck, knocking her chin on the wood. Her teeth ached and she could taste blood but she couldn’t really focus on that now. </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel!” Stan called, abandoning all pretenses in the wake of attack. “Were you seen?” </p><p> </p><p>Mabel looked up at her great uncle with remorse. “I’m sorry, I cou-,” another boom cut her explanation off, in a fit of rage at Gideons absolute gall Mabel ripped her arm from Stan's arms. He had been in the process of trying to pull her to some semblance of safety. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel ran towards the stern of the ship, ignoring the calls from all that she passed as she hoisted herself up on the railing, gripping the ropes as she glared at the naval ship moving swiftly with them at their side. </p><p> </p><p>“Get down from there girl!” Ford yelled at her between ordering his men around, trying to get the ship moving faster and load the rear guns to fire back, all while staying at the helm. </p><p> </p><p>But Mabel was a being of vengeance this day. Ignoring her uncle, she threw her hat from her head, wrenching her long hair from where it had been tucked up under her coat. </p><p> </p><p>“Come and get me you addlepate!” Mabel screamed at the ship, her eyes burning into the white haired man’s. </p><p> </p><p>Her face was twisted into such fury, her back straight, and her head held high, to the outside view she looked like a goddess of the sea. Seething at the mortal that dared try to contain her. </p><p> </p><p>“Mabel, you will surrender yourself to me!” Gideon ran to the railing of his ship, demanding her obedience. </p><p> </p><p>So many had demanded for her to obey in her short life, Gideon just the latest in a long line of men that wanted to rule her. She would not be cowled by yet another ego driven man expecting her to bow down just because of her breeding, stature, and innocent face. She was not as fragile as they all presumed of her. With a piercing look Mabel released the ropes, balancing herself on the railing precariously. </p><p> </p><p>“You hang in chains Gideon!” Mabel shot back with a harsh bark. “Fire your cannon on me, or piss off! I’ll not have you and the only way you’ll have me is when I run you through with my sword!” </p><p> </p><p>Gideon’s face paled and then turned an angry red color. Mabel held his eyes, daring him to fire a cannon and knock her into the ocean to be lost in the churning ocean between the two ships. She’d most certainly die. </p><p> </p><p>He held up a hand, a look so deadly and boiling mad Mabel was sure he would chase her to the ends of the oceans. The ship stopped firing and the sails rose, the naval ship slowing. </p><p> </p><p>The Stan O’ war was steadily pulling away, the smaller merchant ship built for speed in comparison to the bulkier build of the naval ship made for sea battles and not chases. </p><p> </p><p>“You will be mine, Mabel Pines!” Gideon growled as the distance between the ships grew and it became clear that the smaller ship would out run the navy to all aboard on this day. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel flipped her long tendrils over her shoulder, huffing at the ship. She didn’t dare leave her post even if the danger of slipping into the deadly seas grew with every moment that she stood there like a vanguard, warding off attack. </p><p> </p><p>“That was fool hardy Mabel,” the growl caught her attention, glancing back to see her very worried uncle. </p><p> </p><p>“It was all I could think to do,” Mabel sighed, taking the rope again when she saw how afraid he was. His hands out ready to catch her. </p><p> </p><p>“Gambling your life on the bet that his obsession was greater than his rage was the best you could come up with?!” Stan growled at her, not pulling her down since they weren’t quite far enough away from Gideon’s ship for comfort. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s my fault he attacked! I couldn’t just do nothing,” Mabel lifted her chin in the noble way that came so naturally to her and Dipper. </p><p> </p><p>Stan, not for the first time, felt awed by her, she was so much like him in his youth, but there was a determination in her eyes that he never had. When she had declared that she would be coming with them on this fool’s errand to rescue Dipper, he’d seen that fire, that strength. He adored and envied the bond she had with her brother, and the way they played off each other’s strengths. He wished for a moment he still had that bond with his own brother. </p><p> </p><p>“Come down now, they can’t catch up,” Stan said, shaking away the thoughts. He helped her down and he waved a hand to Ford to silently say that they’d talk to her later on just how deadly that could have been. Right now obviously wasn’t the time. </p><p> </p><p>Even with their ship being faster than Gleeful’s, he was still a threat. He may be just barely out of his landlubber days, but Stan didn’t doubt he had plenty of old salts on his ship. That was why they needed Ford at the helm; focused. Stan hated to admit it but the man was the best when it came to sailing. </p><p> </p><p>He knew how to position the ship just right to hide among the waves and the sun, he understood the winds well enough to grab at the fastest gust’s, if anyone could get this hunk of junk to Tortuga faster than a naval warship it was Stanford Pines. </p><p> </p><p>“What are we going to do about Gideon?” Mabel asked, looking over to the ship just out of range, moving now to pursue. </p><p> </p><p>“That boy is loony, but he’s turned to piracy and dragged down the good men on his ship,” Stan answered. “When we reach Tortuga we will have Governor Bertrand d’Ogeron send a message to the crown, a naval captain going on account!” Stan shook his head. “What is the world coming to!” </p><p> </p><p>Mabel couldn't help snorting, it had taken her and Dipper only a week to find his secret stash of memorabilia from his pirate days. He didn’t know that they knew but to hear him damning others for what he once did was almost too much for Mabel’s composure. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel looked around noticing the way the crew that had been content to ignore her just the day previous was now openly staring. The difference between being a noble man and being a noble woman was instantly stark. </p><p> </p><p>She raised her head and remembered what Wendy said about proving that she was strong enough to not be messed with and shot them all a glare. “Lads, I just stared down a boy with fifty cannons at his command, come at me with what you will, but be prepared for my wrath!” </p><p> </p><p>Stan blinked at the girl’s declaration, grinning proudly to himself, that was his niece! Tough as nails!</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah! Go Mabel!” Wendy cheered through the dead silence, prompting the other sailors to call out cheers as well. A group even began to chant her name. </p><p> </p><p>For what must have been the first time Mabel felt pride in herself, she hadn’t danced prettily, she hadn’t simply looked nice, and she hadn’t had an appropriately witty conversation. She’d done something only she could do, and it felt grand. </p><p> </p><p>Now she just had to figure out how she’d ever give this up when they returned home with Dipper. </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Dipper could have cried when he was handed an actual pair of shoes. They weren’t the fancy yet fragile kind he was used to, but high grade leather dock boots. He praised every deity he could name just to be properly thankful for the blessing. </p><p> </p><p>The rest of the outfit he was gifted was acceptable as well. A pair of dark leather breachers that laced up at the cuff, a light gold button up with sleeves that flared before being laced tight at his wrists, and a black vest. It wasn't the most intricate thing he’d ever worn but it was his, it was clean, and it fit his body the way it should. </p><p> </p><p>He was given a fresh pair of knickers but no stockings, instead Bill had handed him strips of cloth to wrap around his feet and up his ankles to hide his flesh. </p><p> </p><p>Once again Bill had given him the decency of privacy when wrapping a towel about himself and dressing. Dipper's opinion of the man had raised, sure he had a sharp tongue and was most definitely a cad but he was starting to think that he was also respectful. At least those were thoughts until he left the bath and began to change. </p><p> </p><p>It was strange, when around the captain today he felt almost hypnotized, to be fair the captain always had that effect on Dipper’s mind but it was one hundred times worse since leaving the ship. It was like the captain had the ability to reach into his head and just force him to be open and vulnerable. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper waited patiently for Bill to dress himself, trying to breathe through his nose and not peek. The moment Bill entered the room and began putting on his clothes, Dipper hadn't been able to think of anything but the captain anymore. </p><p> </p><p>Bill did his best not get caught admiring how Dipper looked in clothes fitted for him, outlining how small and frail he was. The strange and endearing thing about the boy was how even though he looked fragile, he proved with every word how strong willed he was. He was just so breakable, yet so untamable. </p><p> </p><p>Bill never remembered Ford like this, to be fair he’s been more of a kindly uncle in those days, showing him the ropes of piracy and not a prospective lover. But the point still holds, Ford had been nothing like this boy who seemed almost ethereal. </p><p> </p><p>“Now we have to make one stop before lunch, but we can do that on the way!” Bill smiled brightly, offering his elbow like he had when he thought Dipper a girl. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper almost took it because of muscle memory and that strange feeling he had around Bill but stopped himself, he was neither Bill’s lover, nor a woman. </p><p> </p><p>“Fine, lets go,” Dipper walked past the man, much the same way he’d snuffed Gideon at the gala. The large difference was that Bill grinned devilishly, excited by his personality while Gideon had gotten upset that he didn’t have complete control. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper kept his head on a swivel, looking around for an opportunity for escape. From up the hill he could just barely see the sides of the governor's manor. If only the man knew he was here, then maybe the French soldiers stationed around the other side of the island could come for him. </p><p> </p><p>As Bill led the way he noticed the amount of heads turning his way. That was pretty ordinary for him, he wouldn’t hold onto any fake modesty, he knew he was very attractive but it seemed more pronounced than it normally was. </p><p> </p><p>Woman flushed upon seeing him, men too, backing away to let him pass. A fair few even glared at Pinetree out of some kind of jealousy. </p><p> </p><p>“Just how many lovers have you had?” Dipper scooted in closer to Bill’s side when he sensed how hostile a few of those they passed were getting. </p><p> </p><p>“Not an island full,” Bill muttered. He really hadn’t been with as many men as people assumed, just one or two every few years. </p><p> </p><p>Bill stopped him and Dipper by a crazed man, standing on a soap box, Bill tilted his head toward the man listening intently. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper furrowed his brows, this was what Bill needed to do? Listen to some loon spouting nonsense?</p><p> </p><p>The man was a crockety looking fellow, scrawny and humped backed. His nose was bulbous and red, Dipper believed he fit the pirate term: Grog Blossom. His nose sure was red enough and one could smell the water drown drink on him from a fathom away. </p><p> </p><p>“The girl had hands of ice! She froze the naval man solid with one touch!” The crazed man told his whimsy tale, loud and slurred. </p><p> </p><p>“What are we doing here?” Dipper asked, hungry and irritated by the way everyone they passed kept glaring at him. What is happening?</p><p> </p><p>“Shh, let him finish,” Bill whispered, letting his arm fall over the boy's shoulder. Neither acknowledged that he’d done it, Bill was caught up trying to absorb the old man’s story and Dipper was concerned with all the pirates and whores that we’re paying too much attention to them! </p><p> </p><p>“The demon child will be hanged in three days!” The old man finished. A few people in the crowd around him threw bottles at his head, which the old man expertly ducked. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper just left bad for this child, if the story held any grain of truth. They were probably just the victim of zealots and fools, being put to death for nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. His mother had always despised witch hunts like that, unlike other nobles they never went to watch the deaths of other people, she instilled in him and Mabel a respect for all life. </p><p> </p><p>Bill walked up to the old man, his story now starting from the beginning again. </p><p> </p><p>“McGucket,” Bill called, an easy going demeanor to him. The old man looked to Bill, seeming happy to see him. “Where did you hear this tale?” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper raised a brow, confused about why the hell they were talking to a guy like this but didn’t say anything. </p><p> </p><p>“Port Renown, Mr. Cipher, I heard it all from the French,” he rattled off before beginning to rambling nonsense and incoherent noises. Dipper looked between Bill and the crazy loon with furrowed brows. This all felt strangely cryptic. </p><p> </p><p>“Very good,” Bill tossed him a few coins and began to lead Dipper to lunch at the same tavern that they ate breakfast at. </p><p> </p><p>“What was that about?” Dipper asked. </p><p> </p><p>“What was what about?” Bill asked back, keeping his eye firmly fixed on their destination, his face unreadable. </p><p> </p><p>“Alright, don't tell me. It is not like I care,” Dipper muttered. He tried to look away but for some reason kept sneaking glances at the pirate, a blush kept spreading over his cheeks. By the time they got to the tavern Dipper was red faced and he didn’t know why!</p><p> </p><p>There was just something so bewitching about Bill, like his very being demanded attention in the most unholy way. And everyone around them seemed to agree, everyone stared at Bill as he passed. Some actually drooling over him!</p><p> </p><p>Dipper shook his head, trying to ignore the way heat was pooling into his stomach. Bill pushed the tavern door open for Dipper and he gave a polite nod of thanks. </p><p> </p><p>Bill preened back, patting himself on the back for managing to get through bathing without attacking his Pinetree. He couldn’t believe how much Dipper was opening up to him!</p><p> </p><p>Heads turned as he led Pinetree to one of the tables that was empty and pulled a chair out for him. Pinetree sat down and Bill leaned over him. “I’m just going to talk to Strange, stay here.”</p><p> </p><p>Bill walked away, a happy skip to his steps. Dipper rolled his eyes at the man, finding him ridiculous even if he did grow on a person. He was like a barnacle on a ship, you could scrap them all away but they just came back. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper hummed along to the song dancing through the air, the words catching his attention. </p><p> </p><p><em> “-set set sail alone, there is no crew. No one up on the deck that can help you. This is all your own battle too win, this is your ship and you are the captain </em>,” Dipper looked to the woman on the haggard looking stage, singing the haunting and beautiful song. She was pretty but her voice caught the attention of his addled mind. </p><p> </p><p>Bill approached Tad, his mind split between his Pinetree and the distressing news he’d just gotten. A child, most likely one of his own, was about to be executed for existing. He often used McGucket for information, the man took in more than most and repeated it verbatim, all while most finding him insane so they didn’t put any stock in his words. It was just Bill’s luck that the old man always paid more attention to the supernatural than most. </p><p> </p><p>“Strange!” Bill caught Tad’s attention while he was in the middle of bartering with the owner to buy more rum for the ship. </p><p> </p><p>Tad turned and his eyes widened, he raised his arm to clamp the fabric over his mouth and nose. “Bill!” Tad hissed, lowering his voice and looking around. “What the hell are you doing?” </p><p> </p><p>Bill raised a brow, lifting his arm to sniff himself. “What? I just bathed,” he frowned, not seeing or smelling the problem. Tad had a flush growing on his cheeks and it just made Bill think of how much prettier Pinetree was when he flushed. </p><p> </p><p>Tad sucked in a gasp suddenly and bent over, seeming to be holding his breath now. </p><p> </p><p>“Dammit Bill! Are you trying to be the next Helen of Troy? Calm your damn pheromones before a war breaks out!” Tad hissed lowly, still making sure no one was listening. </p><p> </p><p>Bill froze, finally understanding why everyone seemed to be eyeing him today. “Oh,” he whispered with growing horror. His incubus pheromones must be slipping out because he was holding back his lust, did that mean. . . Pinetree was not warming up to him? He could very well just be being forced into a state of lust by Bill’s magic. “God’s teeth!” Bill gasped. </p><p> </p><p>Tad looked around the man to see Dipper was watching curiously for Bill’s return, his eyes glossed over as Bill unknowing filled the space with his scent. He needed to do something before pirates began attacking, they didn’t need <em> another </em> incident like that. </p><p> </p><p>“You must be pent up,” Tad finally said, taking Bill’s shoulders to push him towards the doors. “Go back to the ship, I’ll watch Dipper,” he instructed. </p><p> </p><p>Bill shamefully turned, feeling like a failure since he couldn’t fully control his own power. He should have known trying to hold back what came natural to him would be a terrible idea! </p><p> </p><p>Dipper raised a brow when Bill turned and began to shuffle towards the doors with an ashamed look, the lyrics of the song still playing loudly over his ears. <em> “Oh, Captain, let's make a deal, where we both say the things we both really feel,” </em> the words danced in Dipper's mind as he caught eyes with the captain. His worries and fears spiking somewhere in the back of his mind but he couldn’t seem to grasp them. <em> “I feel scared, and I’m starting to sink, and I only sink deeper the deeper I think!”  </em></p><p> </p><p>“<em> Oh, Captain </em> . <em> Oh, Captain, deal!” </em>Dipper wanted to reach out for him. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> Oh, Captain deal!” </em>Dipper’s hand lifted, thinking what a fool he’d been not to allow the pirate to take him to bed sooner. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> Oh, Captain deal!” </em> Dipper felt something in his chest pull when Bill got to the door. He looked back and caught Dipper’s eyes once more, holding him captive in that molten gold. He wanted to yell for him to come back, bury himself in that broad chest and never pull away. Bill frowned at him and the door slammed shut. “ <em> Oh, woah!” </em>The spell broke, people all around shook their heads in combined confusion. It was like the personification of madness and lust had taken over them all at once!</p><p> </p><p>Dipper rubbed his head, feeling himself grow dizzy and a little sick. </p><p> </p><p><em> “Ocean waters rising above your neck, mmm,” </em> Dipper snapped his head up, grasping what he was supposed to be doing. He was supposed to be trying to escape! He had a family to get back to, and a sister to keep safe! <em> “You feel the glass, start to crack!”  </em></p><p> </p><p>Dipper looked at Tad, the man gave him a small wave and held up a finger as if to say ‘one second’ before turning around and continuing to barter with the tavern owner. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper knew he’d never see a better opportunity. He waited for the music to get louder, the people around him starting to move around a bit more, then he stood as quietly as he could. He backed up, not taking his eyes off Tad until he got to the doors. when his back touched the door Dipper spun around and made a mad dash out of the tavern. </p><p> </p><p>Tad turned back, having ordered food for himself and Dipper and froze. Dipper was gone. </p><p> </p><p>“Shit,” he spat. Dropping the food he was carrying and running for the door. He cursed the humans around him from keeping him from using his abilities, Bill was going to skin him alive if Dipper gets away!</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Pxluo was kind enough to do a little beta-ing for me! hope you guys enjoy the chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Old Switcheroo!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey so the Governor's name has changed! I noticed I had made an error and it has been fixed in the last chapter. hopefully it is not jarring for any of you!</p><p>clipper- smaller, faster moving boat</p><p>Antiquated Rogue- a reformed thief pr pirate</p><p>boss- can be used causally to address someone of more authority</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mabel stared at the dress that she had been presented as the crew worked to dock their ship on Tortuga’s southernmost port. It was the Governor's personal port for trading and anything else he deemed important. They’d almost been denied entry when the ship had been maneuvered close to the boardwalk but since her great uncles were so well known in the Caribbean, all Stan had to do was glare over the side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had known somewhere in the back of her mind that seeing the French Governor meant being the little lady that she was again, but she couldn’t have ever guessed that it would feel this painful. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today she had proved to not only the crew and her uncles, but to herself that she was worth more than a life as a decorative ornament for a man to claim. Today she had been brave, strong, and fierce. And now the end was near for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because no matter how strong she had proven herself, it didn’t matter, she was a noble and being strong in that way wasn't what the world wanted from her. Her uncles had spoken with her. Told her that what she had done had been too dangerous for them to allow her to stay on the ship. With Gideon now chasing them to kidnap her, and her ‘erratic behavior’, they apparently couldn’t let her continue sailing in good conscience. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel lifted the dress, feeling the soft and expensive material, tears stung her eyes instantly. Today her uncles would ask the Governor to hide her for about a week, before sneaking her aboard an unassuming ship that would take her back to England. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Back to boredom, back to obedience, back to a life of being what those around her wanted. And she would do it all without Dipper by her side this time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel didn’t doubt that her handlers would take this opportunity to wed her off to one of the men Dipper had shot down. The ones that would have been a great ‘business opportunity’ if they combined assets but had been rumored to be cruel and Dipper had said no way. With Dipper captured by pirates Mabel will be at their mercy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At first Mabel had tried to restate her first argument, that England couldn’t know that Dipper had crossed dressed. If they didn’t return together the court would shun the Pines family. But Ford had been ready for her this time. He stated that he’d already sent an address out on a clipper, stating that the pirates had wanted to embarrass the nobility and dressed Dipper like a girl themselves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no longer any reason for Mabel to continue pretending to be a boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel swiped at her eyes, feeling silly and foolish for ever thinking she could keep this; this freedom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had to hold her breath as she unwrapped the bind around her chest, removed her borrowed breachers, and took off Dipper’s fragile boots. She summoned up everything inside to force her back straight as she pulled the dress on; taking up her chains willingly. She raised her chin, trying to keep herself together by sheer force of will, even if her lip still trembled. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper had perfected the ability to blend into the background, years of going to parties and formal meetings where people tried to take advantage of his young and inexperience had taught him well. He utilized this power now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper had immediately ducked into an alleyway, but he hadn’t stopped to see if Tad would come rushing out. No, he circled behind the tavern and snuck through a hole in a fence, ending up on the next street. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper looked all around himself several times before daring to step out into the open. With a quick step Dipper made his way in the direction of the Governor’s manor. It would take a few hours to get there but he was determined to get back to Mabel before Gideon found her! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shuffled up close to groups of pirates, walking close enough that if people weren’t paying attention they’d think him a part of them, but not so close as to draw their attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was almost to the next street when he caught sight of Tad storming down from that direction. Dipper effortlessly swung around, blending in with a passing group of pirates going in the opposite direction and then slipped into another alleyway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What followed must have been an hour of zigzagging all over the island, Tad seemed to have not told anyone he was missing yet but he was somehow always right on his tail even though he was only one person! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was like the gentleman pirate could track him! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper faded into yet another alley, hiding behind a stack of boxes. When the pirate passed he slipped out and ducked down yet another narrow and uneven street. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was when Dipper realized how hopelessly lost he was. He could no longer see the Governor’s manor, he could barely see which direction the port was! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit!” Dipper gasped. He couldn’t exactly ask for directions, he still hadn’t been able to take off the choker and he had a sneaking suspicion that almost everyone would recognize it and somehow give him away. And he couldn’t openly retrace his steps while trying to avoid Tad! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He honestly didn’t know what to do!</span>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel sighed, Governor Bertrand d’Ogeron ate like a pig. She could barely keep her face straight as he had lunch served for her and her family. He wore one of those hideous powdered wigs that Dipper had been forced into from time to time and he looked like he’d grown fat recently by the way his stomach swelled unevenly. She had read that he’d been an explorer, expelling the last Governor when he realized the pirates needed a firmer hand in order to join polite society.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel didn’t exactly think it was possible for the pirates, but he seemed to think his slave ship full of harlots would do the trick to turn these thieves and murderers into plantation men. It was set to arrive in the next few months if the winds proved favorable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It really is an ingenious plan, if I do say to myself,” the Governor bragged, loudly slurping down the oysters that had been put out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course Governor Bertrand,” Ford praised in a strained tone. The man hadn't stopped talking about himself since they stepped onto the port. “Genius indeed, this island, and France is lucky to have a man such as yourself on their side.” Ford looked pained saying this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Those pirates attack the Spanish so it’s within my benefit to keep them around, but I will not tolerate them violating God's laws by-,” he stopped and glanced at Mabel. “Maybe this is a conversation best had away from the little lady. She’s been through a terrible trauma and I doubt she wants to hear about the pitiful pirates, barely skilled enough to be called sailors.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, having kept mostly silent as she ate as it was polite. Unlike this fool, spewing food as he chatted and chewed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pitiful sailors? Really, Governor?” Mabel dabbed the sides of her lips with her napkin. She saw the way Stan and Ford ordered her with their eyes to stand down but she wasn’t in England yet. She still had a sip of freedom and she was going to enjoy it. “I was under the impression that the Buccaneers knack for sailing and sea battle was what kept this island under French control for so long.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Governor chuckled, patting her hand like her thought her a silly little girl. “A few do have skill, I will admit, and that is why the long term plan is to invite some to join the French navy. They are barbaric but I believe I can train them to be proper and upright men.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here here,” Stan raised his glass, trying to end this topic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wasn’t it the first Buccaneers that discovered their smaller ships gave them a three pronged advantage?” Mabel folded her hands delicately, and gave the Governor an unimpressed look. “I believe they took to using the cover of night to slide right up to larger ships and snuck aboard. Silently slitting throats until they got to the captain and forced a surrender. Then used their speed advantage to get away before being caught.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Le Grande I believe coined the tactics, when he drilled holes in the bottom of his ship in order to motivate his crew, in the first successful large scale pirate attack, he went on to use the fact that the buccaneer people began as hunters and thus were excellent marksman in order to take ships quickly and efficiently.” Mabel ended her lecture with a cold stare. “That is what ingenious sounds like to me, hardly barbaric. But what do I know? I’m just a little lady.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The table was silent, the Governor’s eyes narrowed and both her uncles’ looked at her with exasperation. Mabel did feel slightly bad, at least for her uncles’ sake but she had opened Pandora’s box today, she couldn’t just put it all back in!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel!” Ford gasped but the Governor suddenly laughed and waved away his concern. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My! It looks as if you learned a thing or two about these savage men,” her grinned at her, black teeth showcased and making Mabel sneer. “You know the stories of the far and few clever ones, they are like animals or women, every once and awhile one is born with a brain. That is why I give ships and papers to a few,” he told her like she hadn’t just schooled him with actual facts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel’s eyes narrowed. “Yes I heard about L’Ollonais, his brutality and merciless battles have even reached England. Would you truly claim him as one of the ‘smart ones’?” Mabel barely kept in a snarl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He is rather successful, is he not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s a brute,” Mabel snapped. “Sure he wins his battles but unlike most no one has ever surrendered to him! He gets less gold because he has to sink every ship he attacks!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His reputation precedes him!” The Governor laughed like he’d just heard all this for the first time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, his reputation of torturing prisoners and leaving men to drown with no land in sight, who wouldn’t fight til the last man when they know no quarter will be offered! He doesn’t even adhere to the Custom Of The Coast!” Mabel argued, her voice raising. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Governor made a gross sound in his throat as he sucked in a breath and laughed at her. “That ‘pirate’s code’ nonsense?” He slapped the table in his laughter, finding this girl overly ridiculous in her defense of pirates. “Child, the so called ‘Brethren Of The Coast’ are nothing more than hearsay.” He chided her. “We’ve found no actual pirate leadership, in fact I think by their very nature they reject governing. It is something I am battling with every day.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What of Governor Jean-,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That traitor will not be mentioned here!” Bertrand knocked back his chair to yell. “That man used </span>
  <em>
    <span>French </span>
  </em>
  <span>aid to build himself a palace and a fortress and then turned his guns on France itself! Pirate King!” He spat the words. “He was just a damnable fool with delusions of grandeur, and he died like a coward, that is the last he will be mentioned here!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel shrunk into her seat, her anger boiling but she had been trained too well to rise to his level. Ford was giving her a disappointed look and Stan eying her with a forlonged sadness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I believe I’ve outstayed my welcome in this conversation,” Mabel sighed, standing up and brushing down her skirts. “I think I will retire for the day, rest now that I am on land once again.” Mabel gave a curtsy, tipping her head to hide the burn of tears that she couldn’t stop and turned before anyone could offer to show her to her room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stopped outside the dining room, listening to her uncles’ apologizing for her behavior. It felt like they were spewing apologies for who she was as a person, making her feel wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Governor waved away their apologies, laughing once again. “It’s fine, women like her are a rare breed. I’d say she actually has a brain,” he praised her. “Although she will need a strong husband to tame her, I happen to be in the market for a wife and with a woman so versed in pirate history I’m sure it would prove beneficial-,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel gasped softly and took up her skirts to run down the halls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That boorish man! How dare he ask for her hand at a time like this! With her brother missing and her family in crisis, how dare he take advantage of the situation!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel ran without destination, in her mind wishing for one of the only people that she knew would understand: Wendy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She made it to the gardens, panting and out of breath. She spotted the crew just outside the stables. They were sitting in a circle, using buckets to drum a beat and singing a chantey together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“-Said, ‘now hush, love. Here’s your gown, there’s the bed, lanterns down,’” </span>
  </em>
  <span>they sang as Mabel slowed, coming up behind them. She couldn’t help but give a watery smile seeing them. They barely had a care in the world, unlike her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“But I don’t want to go to sleep, in all my dreams I drown.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Is this what it means for art to imitate life? She did feel like she was drowning in this life she was forced to live. The tune hurt her heart. She listened to the next verse, and swayed her head a bit to the soft tune. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the song ended Wendy noticed her in the fringes of the circle and seemed to understand that she was upset. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy made a vague gesture to the crew as she got up and took Mabel by the arm, guiding her away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” Wendy asked, once they were far enough away that they wouldn't be overheard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They are abandoning me here! And that pig of a man will probably try to touch me and I won’t be able to ever see my brother again because he’ll ruin me and I’ll never get to leave this island again!” Mabel said all in one breath, her eyes overflowing and her lips trembling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy’s eyes widened and she pulled the small girl into a hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean they are abandoning you here?!” She asked with worry. Governor Bertrand was not someone you just left a young girl with!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Stan’s say that it is too dangerous for me to continue aboard the ship,” Mabel sniffled, hugging Wendy’s waist in misery. “I’m going to be left here and even if he doesn’t touch me he could claim me ruined and I’ll never be allowed home and I’ll never see Dipper again!” Mabel cried into Wendy’s coat. “I’m scared.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy’s eyes hardened and she held Mabel even tighter, protecting her within her arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then I will stay with you,” Wendy declared. She loved the Stan O’ War and their crew but she had fallen in love with this young girl and if keeping her safe meant staying with her here and even joining her in England, well, that was just what she would have to do!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Mabel pulled back, shocked and touched. “You’d give up the sea for me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Wendy said with no hesitation. “We girls have to stick together,” she grinned down at the girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a moment of awed silence the two women moved to a bench deeper into the garden and Mabel began to describe what happened at lunch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The worst part is I came on this exposition to find Dipper, because this was all my fault! But now I’ll be going home without him and . . . I don’t want to go home,” Mabel sighed. Wendy seemed shocked by her admission so she quickly saved face. “Without him I mean, it wouldn’t be the same.” Which of course was true but it wasn’t the reason she didn’t want to go home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Home meant everyday would be like that lunch, holding her tongue and being scolded and apologized for, when she didn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy sat back with a thoughtful look, her mind caught up in the idea that Mabel would have actually made a good sailor if she wasn’t noble. It was a shame really, her intellect was wasted on a group that didn’t wish her to even speak. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about we have one last hurrah?” Wendy suggested. “Dipper could be in town right now, I know your uncles’ will be heading out soon to search, so let’s sneak out with them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh Wendy, you antiquated rogue!” Mabel brightened immensely. “Yes! If we find him then I won’t be stuck here!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll want to dress in your brother's clothes again, you don’t want to wear a dress so fine down in pirate territory,” she grinned when Mabel’s excitement became visible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I still have my bind in my truck!” Mabel jumped up, grabbing Wendy’s hand to start dragging her back to the room that Mabel had been given for her stay. “I can be ready in no time!”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper fell back exhausted against a rickety old wall, despair filling the air around him. He had only managed to get himself more lost, and no matter what he did Tad seemed to be forever on his tail. Dipper was staying out of sight by the skin of his teeth! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey little fella,” a vaguely familiar chipper voice suddenly called, making Dipper jump. He turned to the man that had spoken and his eyes widened in fear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man was wearing a cloaked hood and was large in both height and gut. Worst of all he was blocking Dipper’s path of escape!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Behind the man Dipper spotted a frantic looking Tad run by and then stop and glance into the alley way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir, have you seen a small young man with brown hair and a fair face?” Tad asked from the road. The hulking man looked first to Dipper’s pale face and then glanced back, positioning himself to block Dipper from all sight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can’t say I have, real sorry there boss,” the hulking man drawled. Tad nodded and ran off down the street. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper gulped, looking up at the man. “Thank you,” he bowed his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No worries little fella!” He grinned brightly, taking his hood off to reveal a very trustworthy face. He was buck toothed, and had patches of stubble randomly growing on his face but Dipper recognized him!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soos’!” Dipper shouted in joy, launching himself at the man. “Where have you been? We thought you went down with mother and father's ship! Mabel and I thought you dead!” He hugged Soos’ around his large belly and felt relief as he was held back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ had been employed by his family back in England, kind of like an everyman. He did anything that needed doing at any time. On more than one occasion he had watched over the twins when their parents were called out for an emergency. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s been awhile, little fella,” Soos’ chuckled. “I'm real sorry I never came back, why don’t we find a better hiding place and then I’ll tell you all, then you can tell me why a pirate has been looking all over for you,” Soos’ grinned, looking around for trouble before leading Dipper out of the alleyway. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper was so amazed to see his friend alive that he didn’t question where they were going. Soos led him through the town, hiding him whenever Tad was close, to a small shack of a house almost on the edge of the plantation fields. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ opened the door for Dipper and sat him down at an uneven table, he instantly moved to get the young boy a drink. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you on Tortuga? Why didn’t you come home? We had a funeral for you!” Dipper questioned as Soos worked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, after the ship went down I washed up on some driftwood, I was sure I was going to die Fella,” Soos laughed like it wasn’t a terrifying experience. “Then I was waking up in a ship's cabin, with this real pretty woman nursing me back to health. Apparently she had her crew fish me out of the water, and I kept muttering about getting back to you and your sister.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well anyway, we got married and now I guess I live here, she’s a pirate so I just normally wait for her to come home,” Soos’ finished and Dipper almost fell over in shock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YOU KINDA LEFT OUT A LOT THERE!” Dipper yelled. Soos had been saved and wanted to come home and then he was just suddenly married and happily living on Tortuga, waiting at home for his pirate wife?! What kind of story was that?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it was a real whirlwind,” Soos smiled in a love sick way, glancing out a dirty window to longingly look over the sea. “Now, what brought you here, little fella. I had thought this would be the last place I’d ever see you again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper rubbed the whiplash out of his neck, rolling his eyes in good humor. Soos’ hadn't changed at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It all started with Mabel begging me to go to the Gala for her, and a devil's corset. . .” Dipper explained the entire story from Gideon to Bill, from the deal to the bathhouse, then finally sneaking away when Tad’s back had been turned. Soos’ nodded sagely the entire time, listening as he described the weird things he’d seen, and his need to get home before Gideon found his sister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It sounds like you’ve been through a lot,” Soos’ patted his head, just like he used to do when Dipper had been a small boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ had been one of the only people outside his family to call him Dipper, and to treat him like he wasn’t going to break. The head pats felt incredibly comforting at a time like this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry fella, I’ve got you now!” Soos’ grinned. “I’ll get you to the Governor’s manor!”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
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</p><p>
  <span>Mabel awed at everything she passed. The Governor had called the pirates barbaric but she found them colorful! All around her groups of men laughed, joked, and sang!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was like freedom personified, no one held up airs like they did walking through Knightsbridge!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy made Mabel promise that she wouldn’t leave her side but Mabel was having a very hard time when everything around her was just bursting with life! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to the pirate underbelly of the world!” Wendy grinned down at Mabel, pulling the girl by her arm. It had been awhile since she herself had been on Tortuga, and despite herself she was excited to show her new friend her old stomping grounds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s amazing!” Mabel gasped, looking over the rickety buildings and the slapped community. She was in the process of watching a small scuffle when she spotted him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh damn!” Mabel ducked behind Wendy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” Wendy asked with concern. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s Mr. Strange!” Mabel whispered in horror and then she realized what that meant. “Hey! that means Dipper is here!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?!” Wendy gasped in excitement. Mabel had told her all about her date with the handsome pirate. “Which one is he?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s one, with the black hair and the freaked out expression,” Mabel pointed out the man, still hiding from view. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy looked him over and smirked. “He really is handsome,” she giggled behind her hand, slowly moving to pass by the man, while hiding Mabel from view. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel looked to Tad, and she blushed. He really was handsome, and he had been quite the gentleman when they had gone out. Idly she wondered why he looked so freaked out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they passed into the next street Mabel and Wendy both breathed a sigh of relief. Carrying on like normal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the tavern I met Ciphers crew at the last time I was here, let’s check for them there!” Wendy said, walking forward and looking away just as a hand grabbed Mabel’s coat and yanked her back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A hand covered her mouth and she was slammed into a wall. Two arms caving her in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dipper Pines, you are in so much trouble!” Tad Strange leveled Mabel with a glare. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, this had certainly taken a turn for the worst. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. If I Were Someone Else</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mabel gulped, staring into cold black eyes before she gave him a shaky smile and her best impression of Dipper, which was very well done if she said so herself. “Mr. Strange! You found me!” Mabel thought quickly on her feet. Guessing by what Tad had said, Dipper had escaped. She just needed to buy him some time. It’s not like the pirates were after her, their deal with Gideon was over now that he was hunting her himself.</p><p> </p><p>“I was so lost, thank goodness you found me,” Mabel continued when he just kept staring coldly at her. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay laddie, here’s the deal: you don’t tell the captain I lost you, and I won’t tell him you ran away,” Tad suddenly said, still a little out of breath. “Deal?”</p><p> </p><p>“Deal,” Mabel agreed. She got a sneaking suspicion this ruse wouldn't work on the captain, so she took the opportunity to stay far, <em> far </em>away from him. </p><p> </p><p>Tad blew out a harsh breath, combing back his hair and messing it up slightly. “Alright, cardiac arrest over now, let’s get some food in you,” he sighed, offering his elbow to her. Mabel took it on habit alone. She tried not to curse herself too harshly since he didn’t seem to find anything wrong with her behavior. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, food,” Mabel muttered bluntly, she’d just eaten and with a pig of a Governor. Men weren’t really proven to be good dining companions today. So she wasn’t looking forward to it. </p><p> </p><p>But she would prevail, for Dipper’s sake. Oh, please, let her brother reach their uncles’ and let them come for her. </p><p> </p><p>Wendy must be searching for her right?</p><p> </p><p>Tad led her into a tavern further down the road from the one Wendy had been headed towards, keeping a firm grip on her like she’d slip away at any moment. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel looked upon his profile, remembered those childish dreams of love she’d never been able to truly rid herself of. At the age of twelve, she had dreamed of a whirlwind romance, where a dashing stranger sweeps her off her feet. Introducing her to an exciting world of adventure. </p><p> </p><p>But as she had said before: reality was a cruel thing. At thirteen the talk of her coming out party had begun. She remembered clearly hearing her father talk with handlers about the kind of man they’d pair her with and basically planning her entire life. </p><p> </p><p>It had been eye opening to learn her dreams didn't really matter in the face of securing her future. At times she felt like a princess, kept in a bubble of perfection from the world around her. She probably wouldn’t have learned to read if she hadn't spent so many days masquerading as Dipper. </p><p> </p><p>Even if she was awarded more freedoms than Dipper, it wasn't exactly like she was allowed to roam free. Sure, she got to play outside, and dream all she wanted as a child, but then her ‘education’ had begun. Training her to be a good wife came before making friends, or finding love. Before Gravity Falls her only friends were the staff and Dipper. </p><p> </p><p>Despite the fact that she knew she couldn’t fall in love, she couldn’t help but admire Tad’s face. His skin was clear and clean. Somehow he had a pale complexion for a pirate, and she briefly wondered how he did it. He almost seemed unreal in a way. Like he wasn’t quite right. </p><p> </p><p>He was tall, and broad in the shoulder, with dark black hair and eyes that sometimes looked blue in certain lights even if she knew them to be black. </p><p> </p><p>She knew she’d only hurt him because that’s what people like her did. People that seemed so happy and others fell for them because of that happiness, only to be found out as still having shards of glass in their hearts from when the world broke it. </p><p> </p><p>Honestly, as her reality had grown dimmer Mabel had felt herself become bitter. Her mouth growing sharp and cruel in the way she spoke, and she was sure if anyone dared try and steal a kiss her teeth would cut their lips. Once upon a time, she had been carefree, energetic, and full of dreams but that was <em> very </em> long ago. Everyone had to grow up eventually. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel scoffed at herself, she shouldn’t be thinking of this. Worried for the pirate’s heart and well-being should he fall for someone like her. It wasn’t like she could love anyway. Love was never something in the cards for her. She was a woman, a noblewoman. That basically made her stock to trade and sell.  </p><p> </p><p>She was better off building up the wall inside her mind and around her heart and then killing the child's dream, burying it next to the graves marked ‘freedom’, and ‘piracy’. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel glanced back at the man, seeing him as if for the first time as what he truly was: a love she’d never have. </p><hr/><p>
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</p><p>Wendy had gotten to the tavern before she realized her charge was gone. Just disappeared from sight! For a moment Wendy assumed this was a nightmare. Because it had to be right?</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t have really lost a defenseless woman on a bloody pirate fortress, right? Dear lord, someone tell her she was right! She couldn’t have lost a fucking noble <em> here. </em> “Stan is going to kill me!” Wendy gasped, grabbing at her red locks in panic. </p><p> </p><p>Without wasting a moment more Wendy began running for the uneven street she had last looked back at the girl on. Mabel was nowhere in sight. How? Wendy had only been looking away for a moment! </p><p> </p><p>This was not good!</p><hr/><p>
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</p><p>Bill imagined long, perfectly pale legs wrapped around his hips. A ghost of a moan trembling out of rosy pink lips. His hands were moving in quick, long strokes over his overstimulated member but he couldn’t stop. </p><p> </p><p>He couldn't stop the fantasy in his head and no matter how much he relieved himself he was still hard and wanting. </p><p> </p><p>So, for now he embraced his fantasy lover. He gave them a pale face, and dark hair. A slim body and an innocent face. </p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t imagining any lover in particular, just the man he envisioned he would fall in love with someday. It was a model for his perfect husband that he’d been building up for years. In Bill’s mind this man would be beautiful, bright eyed, intelligent, and sassy. He liked men that had a bite to them, and knew how to talk back. </p><p> </p><p>With a whining grunt Bill came. He was surprised he had anything left to give but finally, his body calmed down. For a long moment he just laid there, a complete wreck. He was panting and sweaty but at the very least his incubus side was finally under control. </p><p> </p><p>His sheets were a mess, and he felt like he needed another trip to the bathhouse now. </p><p> </p><p>Once he could walk again Bill wiped himself down, changed the sheets, and redressed himself for the day. He left the room then and located Pyronica, moving to her with a quick step. </p><p> </p><p>“Py, smell me,” Bill ordered. </p><p> </p><p>She had shoved him in his room the moment he returned to the ship, reacting much the same way as Tad had. </p><p> </p><p>Pyronica leaned forward and sniffed him. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re good, no more pheromones Captain,” Py determined with a nod of approval. </p><p> </p><p>Bill gave a sigh of relief, he didn’t think he had anything left to give if he was still leaking pheromones. Now he could rejoin his Pinetree, and go back to enjoying his date. </p><p> </p><p>Bill practically skipped to the gangplank, Pyronica following close behind to begin her own shore leave. </p><p> </p><p>Bill happily began to plan the rest of the day, he’d take Pinetree back to the ship and begin his first swordplay lesson and then tonight they would head back to the tavern. He’d take Pinetree’s hand and dance a jig with him, woo him so much the boy would become dizzy. </p><p> </p><p>Bill smirked when his plans were in place. Pinetree was a unique one, and Bill liked it. He was a small thing, long legged, pale, and already seemed more intelligent than the average man. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly Bill paused, a radical thought entering his mind. The image he’d relieved himself to, the man he’d dreamed of looked and behaved exactly like one Mason Pines. </p><p> </p><p>Pyronica looked at Bill strangely as he paused in the middle of the street, looking baffled and awestruck. </p><p> </p><p>“Captain? What’s wrong?” She asked. </p><p> </p><p>Bill considered the question. Was something wrong? Pinetree was all soft flesh over a sharp tongue, he was mysterious and prickly, he was beautiful and intelligent. All things that Bill had desired in a partner someday. It had only been a few days but Bill liked him and truly believed he could love him if given half a chance. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I’m fine,” Bill lit up, excitement fluttering in his chest. “More than fine!” </p><p> </p><p>Bill happily headed for where his Pinetree and Tad should be. </p><p> </p><p>Pyronica watched him go a little flabbergasted, she couldn’t understand his wild emotions. With a roll of her eyes she let it go and continued on at his side. </p><p> </p><p>Bill was grinning so wide that people jumped out of his path, thinking him crazed or mad, but he was simply struck by love!</p><p> </p><p>Bill was so ecstatic that he began to feel a little mischievous, he spotted a streak of red just on the side of his vision. He snapped his head in the direction he saw it and smiled wickedly. He remembered that girl, she had been fourteen the last time Bill saw her, but her hair was a dead give away. Captain Corduroy’s runaway daughter. </p><p> </p><p>“Red!” Bill called for her attention. He watched in pleasure as the young girl jumped and then cringed at seeing him, looking nervous and even a little afraid. He could understand, Py loved her red hair so much that Bill had decided to tease her last time he saw her. He’d hit on her brother who was sitting next to her at the time pretty aggressively. The boy hadn’t even been Bill’s type but he loved how offended in her brother’s defense she had gotten and couldn’t help it. </p><p> </p><p>“Captain Cipher,” the redhead gave him a shaky smile and shifted her eyes like she was looking for someone. </p><p> </p><p>Bill assumed she was searching for her brother, trying to protect him from the <em> big bad Captain </em>. He smirked at the thought. </p><p> </p><p>“I heard you gave up piracy for the <em> proper </em> life! Wha’cha doing here?” Bill leaned in getting way too close to her face. The young woman backed up considerably. </p><p> </p><p>“I, Uh, I’m visiting my dad,” Wendy lied. This was not good. She didn’t think she’d run into Cipher right now and she still hadn’t found Mabel! </p><p> </p><p>“Odd, I didn’t see the Red Sail pirates ship in the harbor,” Pyronica spoke up, eying up the redhead. She had certainly grown! Pyronica moved close to the girl, liking the lean muscles and cute freckles, and mostly Pyronica liked her red hair. It was like fire, catching the light around her and lighting up her pretty features. </p><p> </p><p>“Uh,” Wendy felt trapped, shifting around to see if she could see Mabel. Maybe catch her eye and warn her not to be seen. “He should be docking in a few days, I arrived early.” </p><p> </p><p>“Then you have time!” Pyronica took the redhead's arm. “You’ll come drink with us!” Pyronica happily announced. If Tad and Bill get to fall in love during this trip, why not her too? </p><p> </p><p>Wendy felt alarm as the pink haired helmsman took one of her arms and the captain took the other and began pulling her towards a tavern. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh! No that’s re-,” </p><p> </p><p>“We insist!” The captain spoke over her. Wendy cringed slightly when the helmsman hugged her side and firmed her grip against Wendy’s struggles. There was no escape. Bloody hell. </p><hr/><p>
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</p><p>Dipper followed Soos’ with renewed hope. The man knew the island like the back of his hand, he really shouldn’t have expected any less from him. </p><p> </p><p>Soos’ was one of those people that no one ever thought much of until the moment of truth came, and the only one that knew what to do was him. He had an approximate knowledge of many things and the skills to know when to use them. </p><p> </p><p>“How long have you been living here?” Dipper asked. It had only been half a years since his parents had disappeared into the cold, unforgiving sea. </p><p> </p><p>Between the funerals, the scramble to figure out what to do with the lord dead, the Stan’s claiming the twins as legal guardians, and then the trip to the other side of the world, it had felt like years had passed. </p><p> </p><p>“Bout’ three months?” Soos’ guessed. “I’m not much for piracy, so after I married we set me up here. Melody drops by every few weeks or so, I work in the plantation when she’s gone,” Soos’ explained. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper frowned, thinking of how hard he’d wanted to cry while they held the funeral for Soos’. He couldn’t help but feel a little slighted that the man hadn’t come back. </p><p> </p><p>“Soos’,” Dipper whispered, holding onto the man’s coat sleeve like a child. “Why didn’t you come back? You had responsibilities, you had a duty to Mabel and I, you were our only support! Why did you abandon us?”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper's voice had grown louder as he spoke, tears prickling in the corner of his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>Soos’ looked down at the young man, his eyes softening. He pulled the boy into his arms and hugged him. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m so sorry, little fella,” Sois’ whispered. </p><p> </p><p>“Why? Why didn’t you come back?” Dipper asked a little desperately. </p><p> </p><p>“Sometimes you have to forgo duty for your own happiness, my responsibilities could have never measured up to the love I felt for melody,” Soos’ explained. “I love you two fellas and I missed you, but I had to pick her and I had to pick me. I’m sorry,” he finished. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper didn’t like it, somewhere in his mind he’d counted Soos’ as among his family. It bothered him that Soos’ wouldn't come home, or at least written to ease their grief. “You could have at least told us you were alive,” Dipper mumbled pitifully. </p><p> </p><p>“I couldn’t exactly say ‘I’m gonna sail off with my pirate wife, but hope you two are doing alright!’ could I?” Soos’ gave a little buck toothed grin but then let it drop and kneeled in front of the boy, taking his shoulders. “I’m going to be very honest with you Fella, people are allowed to be happy. You are allowed to be happy. Duty and responsibility isn’t everything, and the only <em> duty </em> that you owe is to yourself.” </p><p> </p><p>Now, let’s get you to the Governors manor, if that is where you still want to go?” Soos’ asked, like Dipper had any other choice but to get back home. </p><p> </p><p>Just because he could choose to be happy, didn’t mean Dipper could. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah let’s go,” Dipper whispered, turning away from Soos’ and his warm eyes. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper sighed bitterly. If he was different, maybe he could be happy. </p><p> </p><p>Would it be easier? If he was someone else, if he were not himself? He felt invisible chains tightening around himself every step they took through the town. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper really didn’t know what to do. His old life he’d learned to lie to himself, tell himself that he could be happy. He’d learned to grow with what little happiness and sunlight he had in his life. He’d taught himself to hold it all in. </p><p> </p><p>The problem was it had all come out. On that pirate ship he’d been completely himself, and he wasn’t sure he knew how to reel it all in. </p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t go back, and he couldn’t leave Mabel, so what the hell was he supposed to do? </p><p> </p><hr/><p>
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</p><p>Mabel sipped at the grog she had been handed, eying that black haired pirate that sat to the side of her. </p><p> </p><p>He hadn’t spoken in awhile and was beginning to eye her suspiciously. </p><p> </p><p>Tad eyed the boy, a nagging feeling prickling at his chest as he watched him pick at his food. He hadn’t gotten a good look at Dipper earlier but he was sure his clothes were different. </p><p> </p><p>Bill wouldn't have put him in a pink jacket, even if Tad thought it suited his pale skin. </p><p> </p><p>“Why did you run?” Tad asked, brushing off the clothing issue. He probably just grabbed something in order to disguise himself. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel startled, jumping in her seat at being directly spoken to. Dipper probably ran away because he didn’t want to be there but the question was why. She didn’t know what happened on the ship with him, so the real reason for his escape was a mystery to her. </p><p> </p><p>But she knew her brother well enough to wager a guess. </p><p> </p><p>“I need to get back to my sister!” Mabel perfectly took on the pitch of her brother's voice. “I doubt you understand the consequences of my disappearance! With me gone there is no one to speak for Mabel!”</p><p> </p><p>“She can speak for herself,” Tad argued quietly. He furrowed his brow at the boy. Why did his voice sound different?</p><p> </p><p>“Oh please, Mr. Strange, she may be able to speak for herself but she will never be heard,” Mabel spat the words. Hating the circumstances of her own birth. “Not by court, not by our house, not by any man in England, and certainly not by the man they will force her to marry!” </p><p> </p><p>Tad frowned, he didn’t like the sound of that. “Are you nobles really so stigmatized?” He couldn’t understand that. Pirates had always been so welcoming, in a way he’d assumed others were only a little less so, not as strict as she made it sound. </p><p> </p><p>“Do not be naive, Mr. Strange,” Mabel snapped. </p><p> </p><p>Something clicked in Tad’s mind. Dipper didn’t call him ‘Mr. Strange’, he mockingly called him ‘gentleman pirate’. </p><p> </p><p>Tad was actually beginning to like the name. </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t say anything as he continued to look at who he was beginning to suspect was not Dipper. Tad zeroed in on the neck of not-Dipper and was confirmed in his suspicions that he was speaking to Mabel and not Dipper, for she wore no golden collar. </p><p> </p><p>For a single moment Tad worried about the still lost Dipper but then let it go. Dipper had Ciphers collar around his neck still, if he actually got off the island it wouldn’t be hard to track him down, and the worst Tad would get for his mess up was a whipping. He could be fine with that in exchange for a conversation with Mabel. </p><p> </p><p>“If you were a pirate your voice would be heard,” Tad finally settled on saying. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel’s eyes widened and she realized the jig was up. Her eyes then narrowed and she raised her head in a defiant tilt. </p><p> </p><p>“Do not dare to entice me to a world that will treat me no better Mr. Strange. I am a woman, you know nothing of all the fire, words, and ire I’ve swallowed in my life. All the sharp tongued things in my mouth, I am always bleeding out.” Mabel stood, intent to run away from the man. </p><p> </p><p>He quickly wrapped a hand around her arm, and they both stilled at the contact. She didn’t try to pull away, and he didn’t try to pull her close. It was like they were frozen for just a moment. </p><p> </p><p>“Spit that iré at me, then I’d take it everyday happily. I could listen to you dress me down for hours. Aim that sharp tongue at me, please. Mabel, you could just-,” </p><p> </p><p>“What?!” Mabel turned, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Be happy? With you? You’d take me on some grand adventure, take care of me? Allow me to be myself for the first time?” Mabel demanded, her voice wobbling. “How would that be different? I’d believe in a fantasy, then reality would come knocking on my door once again!” Mabel swiped at her eyes angrily. “The reality that even in your world I need a man to protect me!”</p><p> </p><p>“So what if I want to protect you!?” Tad asked, trying to draw her closer. </p><p> </p><p>“You’d protect me?” Mabel laughed. “Who will protect you from me?” She jerked her arm away from his. “I am a woman that will ruin you Mr. Strange. I can only wring you dry or everything, there is glass in my being and sparking coal in my gut. My world has created a hollowed out thing inside me, that thing will break all of your pretty ideals.” </p><p> </p><p>Tads heart sunk, seeing the way she barely held herself together. He could see her spiraling, like she was currently staring down into the void and she despised what was looking back at her. </p><p> </p><p>“You are not a plague,” Tad whispered to her, pulling her close once again. “You’ve convinced yourself you are not allowed to love, but that is not true.” Mabel sniffled, turning her face away but Tad cupped her cheek to pull her eyes back up to him. “You are so fierce, you are brighter than anyone I’ve ever known, and something about you calls to me. Mabel, please let me love you,” Tad intertwined their fingers, rubbing his thumb over hers. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel hung her head, squeezing her eyes closed in pain. She couldn’t, she just couldn’t accept the dream this pirate presented to her. It couldn’t be true that there was a place for her, because there was <em> never </em> a place for her. At least not for the real her. </p><p> </p><p>“If I was someone else-,”</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t love that person, because it has to be you,” Tad interrupted her with a hushed tone. </p><p> </p><p>“I cannot give you m-my heart Tad,” Mabel’s voice cracked, still not trying to pull away. “I cannot love a pirate. My heart, my fealty, and my being is already owned by England and my family.” </p><p> </p><p>“Hush,” Tad wrapped his arm around her and pulled her towards the space cleared for dancing. He looked at the men with instruments and whispered a request in their direction. “Dance with me?” He asked, a sorrowful tune picking up. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel shook her head, finding him ridiculous. He couldn’t just do this! She was being serious and he was inviting her to dance, like that would solve anything!</p><p> </p><p>“Tad, I’m being-,”</p><p> </p><p>“Humor me,” he whispered, taking her hand and pulling her close. He gently swayed her, one hand coming up to pet at her hair. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel could feel her heart break with each step. Then he began to whisper the soft melancholy song into her ear, and she felt a sob crack in her throat. She was unsure how she didn’t shatter right then and there. </p><p> </p><p><em> “ </em> <em> Go on, stack the cinder blocks in a cold sweat. Build yourself a citadel amid the foothills of regret,” </em>he sang into her ear. His voice was soft, velvety, and heartbreaking. It was like he thought he could convince her to not give up on herself with the emotion he carried in his tone alone. </p><p> </p><p><em> “And though you've convinced yourself, you're safe and sound within. The thing you fear the most never need get in.” </em>Mabel almost laughed, mad and hysterical. What would he know of her fears? The trials she faced every day with no escape but the ledge outside her window.</p><p> </p><p><em> “'Cause you'll miss the sun. The warmth of another's embrace” </em> Tad rubbed her back, keeping her close as he sang to the sad tune. “ <em> You'll need room to run and something to chase,” </em>Mabel wished dearly that he would stop. She wanted to struggle but she felt spellbound by his voice.</p><p> </p><p><em> “And that thing you fear will coax you out of that unholy place,” </em> Tad moved his hands to her shoulder and then up to cup her wet cheek again. He tipped her head up and gazed into her eyes. For what must have been the first time Mabel felt as if someone was actually seeing her, all of her. He looked at every flaw and he smiled, accepting her fully. <em> “As all you've ever wanted is an escape.”  </em></p><p> </p><p>Mabel couldn't stop herself, she bounced up on the tips of her toes and melded her lips to his. He was surprised but didn't pull away from her. Instead he deepened the tender kiss.</p><p> </p><p>They swayed together, one hand clasped together in a desperate attempt to hold onto this moment where they weren't anything other than two people falling in love. Mabel moved her lips against his, swiping her tongue just a bit against his chapped skin. This was by far not her first kiss, but it was the first to curl her toes and send sparks across her finger tips.</p><p> </p><p>But like all good things it eventually ended, and Mabel was back in a reality where she <em> must </em> return to her duties. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel looked away and Tad felt his heart squeeze painfully. He could feel the desperation wafting off her and that made him equally as desperate.</p><p> </p><p>The chorus ended and he ducked his head to whisper gently into her ear. “<em> Darling, when you've tired, you will see,” </em> he sang, wiping her tears away as best he could. <em> “There is no safe place, no sanctuary.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Mabel scoffed at that. She pushed him away and laughed sadly at him. “Yes that makes me feel so much better Tad, thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>Tad pulled her back, not breaking his rhythm. <em> “It's all just child's play, a game of hide and seek.” </em> Tad pulled her head up again, staring into those cinnamon eyes. He needed to get his feeling across to her, he couldn’t bare let her slip out of his life again. He wouldn't be able to survive it. <em> “Don't make it harder than it has to be.”  </em></p><p> </p><p>Mabel fully pulled herself away, turning her back to the man who was tearing her heart apart. Her hands moved to cover her face, pushing the heels of her palms into her eyes in a futile attempt to stop her tears.</p><p> </p><p>“Mabel,” Tad whispered, taking her by the shoulders and pressing her back to his chest in a loving embrace. Sobs wracked her breath and only her thin resolve to uphold the life she had been conditioned for kept her standing. </p><p> </p><p>“Tad, I can't- I cant,” she cried softly, almost begging him to leave her before they ruined each other. “My heart- I can't stand this.” Mabel tried weakly to push his arms away, fighting herself as much as him. “I must return home, I must marry who my family wishes. This isn't my choice, Please-, just leave me. Forget about your love for me, please.”</p><p> </p><p>Tad spun the breaking girl around. He held her shoulders tight and pinned her wet eyes with his own fierce look. “Mabel, for just a moment be honest with yourself! I beg of you!”</p><p> </p><p>Mabel sobbed, trying to stop the anguished words from escaping her throat but it was impossible when faced with his honest eyes. “There is so much silence, so much of me I must hold back but-,” Mabel shook her head, pulling at her hair. “But I still hope that maybe someday I’ll be worth more than what the world wants from me.” Mabel had never felt more terrified than admitting this to the pirate. “Tad, I am not the pure thing you believe me to be, my lungs have gone black from the fire I've hidden within me. You stand here feeding me promises, such beautiful words, so beautiful in fact I'd lose my voice fighting you. Would you still love me when you see my heart is not well?”</p><p> </p><p>Tad gasped softly as an angel begged him to forgive invisible sins and nonexistent flaws. He would cut himself to pieces just to make her whole but he didn't know how to prove that to this girl whose eyes looked so helpless.</p><p> </p><p>In a moment of spontaneous, thoughtless, wishful thinking Tad bent down to one knee. He took her hands and gave each finger a kiss before he spoke. “Here's the truest thing I've ever known,” he kept his voice strong, confident. He imported her with every nerve in his body to stop thinking of others and chose happiness for herself. “The heart is just a muscle with a rhythm all its own, it doesn't stop when you decide not to move on,” his fairy gene’s showed themself as he rhymed just slightly but he couldn't stop. He could feel that he couldn't let this moment pass and it made him frantic. “The heart knows nothing of your love, or of your loss.” </p><p> </p><p>Tad took a breath, feeling his chest flutter when his love seemed struck by his words. “Mabel, marry me?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>Mabel gasped, tearing her hands away to clutch at her chest in torment. “Tad! I’ve told you-, I-, my family would never,” Mabel stopped herself, wiped her face and took a few steps back. “You say this today but life will tick by and you realize I am more trouble than I’m worth.”</p><p> </p><p>Tad could hear the shattering in his chest as he got up, he stepped towards her but she backed away. “You are worth more than anything to me, I need to be near you, I’m compelled by instinct to survive. I need you Mabel.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn't say anything so Tad swooped in. He turned her back to him and returned to the song. He didn't exactly feel right using fairy magic on her but it was the only way to get her to drop her armor for even a moment. “<em> And love's the only thing worth being alive for.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Mabel rolled her eyes and shoved him away. “Love? Love's the only worth being alive for?” she gave a mocking chuckle, even as she burned up and destroyed herself from the inside out. “<em> Those of us who vow never to love again, to love again,” </em> she sang the part of the chorus, finding it emphasized her point. “ <em> Are making liars out of honest men,” </em>she finished, refusing to look at the pirate.</p><p> </p><p><em> “It's not something that you put to bed,” </em> Tad sang softly back to her, not allowing her to fully defend herself again. He grabbed her hand, twirling her gently but into his arms. She turned in his arms and clung to his chest, seemingly giving up fighting with herself. “ <em> Hang your head and just forget, no, love don't know how to rest.” </em>Tad kissed her forehead, tipping her head up. She gave him the saddest smile he had ever seen and closed her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> No, love don't know how to rest,” </em>she finished, moving her arms to wrap around his neck. She clutched him tight like he might disappear any moment.</p><p> </p><p><em> “It's okay,” </em> he sang, bending down to capture her lips once more. </p><p> </p><p><em> “It's okay,” </em>she hummed back, leaning up into the kiss. </p><p> </p><p>Their lips met and Mabel melted into him. Stars exploded behind her eyelids and she never knew a kiss could feel so good. She allowed herself to be fully supported by his strong hold and she finally let go of it all. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly the dream was so real. Run away and be a pirate, right here and now. </p><p> </p><p>She’d set sail and be free. Dipper would be with her and they would be happy for the first time ever. She’d be in love, and married to a man of her choosing. And Dipper would be. . . would Dipper be happy? </p><p> </p><p>They had decided together that they couldn’t be pirates, that the family business their father loved so much was more important than their happiness. She didn’t know how Dipper would feel being dragged along by her once again. She couldn’t choose some pirate over Dipper, nothing was more important to her than her brother. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Use me up, and when you're done, I’ll know you weren’t the one.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> I’m just a book on a shelf, collecting dust all by myself.” </em>The spell broke as the next song began and Mabel pulled away. </p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, dislodging the fantasy she couldn’t have. </p><p> </p><p>Her voice was raw and misery filled as she turned to run away. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Mabel took off, running as fast as she dared with tears clouding her vision. </p><p> </p><p>Tad felt his own tears drip down his cheek as she flitted off like some mythical creature he’d never truly grasp. Impossible to keep for even a Fae such as himself. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Dock On The Way To Galway</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Soos’ grabbed Dipper by the shoulders, yanking him back when a dark red coat passed the opening to the alleyway they were using. The big man grabbed up the hood of the cloak Dipper was wearing and pulled it down to obscure his face even more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The captain walked by without even noticing Dipper or Soos’, all his attention had been on a redheaded woman. Pyronica had been there as well and she had also been distracted by the woman. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They passed without seeing him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper wasn’t sure why but instead of feeling relief, he felt irritated. The captain had made it seem like he valued Dipper. So why was he chatting up a woman while claiming to only like men, in the middle of Dipper’s grand escape?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The gentleman pirate must have told the captain by now, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was him, right fella?” Soos’ asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that was him,” Dipper nodded. He itched to follow, to find out why Bill didn’t seem concerned with his escape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was he just not as important as he’d thought he was? That would make sense, Dipper was always less important to people then he’d thought he was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took a few steps forward, blankly following after the man that should be frantically searching for him. If he was really the man’s prized ‘loot’ then why did he seem so happy?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dipper?” Soos’ asked. He tried to shake the boy out of his trance but Dipper was a man possessed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This pirate had taken him from everything comfortable in his life, ripped away his every protection, and made him fear for his life. Then something strange had happened; he’d been kind. He allowed Dipper more choice than anyone else ever had in Dipper’s life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Dipper said he didn’t want to be a concubine, he was given the chance to prove he could be something else. Then the bargain was upheld when he did! In comparison he’d gotten slapped by his grandfather the first and only time he’d said he didn’t want to be a politician. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper watched the man’s back as the redhead struggled to free her arms. He almost called out, yelled at him for being a liar. If he didn’t really care about him then Bill shouldn’t have pretended that he did! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper didn’t understand why he cared so much, the man was a murderer! He’d shot his own navigator for a small mistake, granted a navigator's mistake could be the death of a ship, but still! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ tightened his grip on Dipper’s shoulder to stop him from running after the pirate he was trying to escape but even that didn’t stop Dipper trance-like need to be the one next to him. His forehead hurt as he just watched the man continue on without him. Honestly, that pirate probably wouldn’t care that he was gone. He’d be upset about the loss of a potential bed partner but that was all Dipper was to him, wasn't it?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper snapped out of his trance when a figure he’d forever recognize ran out of a doorway. It looked like she had been crying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three Dipper had been subconsciously following didn't seem to notice her. They were involved in their conversation. They turned into the doorway she had just run out of a moment later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was that-?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soos’ let’s go!” Dipper shot forward after the girl. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel wiped her tears as she ran, narrowly avoiding crashing into people. She had no idea where she was going but she just knew she had to get away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t stand this! Everything she’d ever wanted presented to her but she couldn’t take it! How could she be so selfish?! How could she do that to her uncles? To Dipper?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was she thinking? She couldn’t just decide for herself who she’d marry, they needed to be vetted and screened. Her husband had to be someone that would help the family grow, someone the complete opposite of Tad Strange. She was a cruel and selfish woman for even daring to hope!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel ran until she found herself at the end of an empty dock. Her hair was wild around her and her eyes red. In a fit of hopelessness, Mabel screamed. It was raw and loud. Every turbulent dream inside her she clawed out in one long, aching scream that scratched her throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God damn it!” She cried, falling onto her knees on the wooden dock and letting her tears hit the ocean waters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why couldn’t she have been born someone else? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel?” A soft voice called, pulling Mabel out of dangerous thoughts about getting into the water and swimming until she drowned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked up and turned around. “Dipper?” She whispered. A mirror image of her stood at the end of the pier. His eyes matched the longing, sadness, and relief that she felt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper sniffled. “Oh god, Mabes!” He ran for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dip!” She ran to him as well. They crashed together in the middle of the dock, falling down and wrapping their arms around each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel and Dipper laughed freely for what must have been the first time in days. Coming back together felt like a hole within themselves was suddenly filled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry,” Mabel cried, her laughter turning to tears. “This is all my fault! If you hadn’t been dressed as a woman, if I hadn’t forced you to go to-,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel,” Dipper interrupted her. He took her face in his hands and just looked at her. He needed to assure himself that this was real. “I’m so glad you were not taken!” He cried. “If they hadn’t taken me, you’d be with Gideon now and I’d never see you again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel sobbed, hugging him close to her and burying her face in his neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was so afraid when they took you, I thought that was the end!” She answered between shuttered breathes. “I was so worried they’d kill you when they realized you weren’t me! And then I feared that pirate captain would turn you into his matelot!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper pulled away from her. “How do you know a word like that? What does that even mean, I heard it before.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Matelot? It means husband, pirates apparently have their own marriages reserved for male couples,” she explained. “But we should forget that now! We can go home, come on let’s-.” She stopped finally noticing the man standing just a few feet behind them. “SOOS’?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She leaped up and tackle hugged the man. “What are you doing here?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ laughed, holding the girl close. “Let’s sit down, I think we all need to have a talk. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Bill entered the tavern and immediately looked for his Pinetree. The struggling redhead at his side was growing frantic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill frowned down at her and let her go. Pyronica was holding her tight enough that she wouldn’t escape their amusement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With his hands freed Bill looked around again and finally spotted Tad. He was by his side in a moment, his head turning as he looked for Pinetree. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tad, where is Pinetree?” He asked as soon as he was close enough. The man was the picture of loss and it wasn’t setting Bill as ease. He looked like the world had just ended! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was slumped over on a stool, his head in his hands and an air of somber sadness around him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad glanced up, his face deathly pale and his eyes red. “I don’t know,” he admitted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill’s stomach twisted and he swore his heart stopped. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t know?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He hissed with disgust. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica dragged Wendy to his side and both women froze as Bill began to shout. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know?!” Bill yelled down at Tad. “I put you in charge of my loot and you bloody lost him?! How do you not bloody know where he is?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad wiped his eyes, unconcerned by Bill's anger, even as Wendy began to shake at the sight. “I did expect him to run off, he hadn’t tried before that. I turned away for a second and he was gone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“HE'S MY PRISONER, OF COURSE HE BOLTED!” Bill yelled at an ear piercing volume. Wendy shrunk into the helmsman’s side, the pink haired woman was surprisingly solid through this terrifying display. That comforted Wendy. Even if the other woman was still keeping a firm and bruising grip on her arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know! This is all my fault, okay? Just punish me and let’s go get him already!” Tad growled out, knocking over his stool as he got up to be at eye level with Bill. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill raised a hand threateningly. He was so enraged that his trusted second in command lost his Pinetree that he had resolved to bash his face in. But then... he saw the tear tracks in his normally impassive face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, what happened? Are you that upset?” Bill asked, his emotions flickering so quick it gave Wendy whiplash. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad sighed, hanging his head. “I found Mabel again...” Wendy’s eyes widened, as did Bill and Pyronica’s. They all listened intently as Tad began to describe everything that had happened since losing Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All three were entranced as Tad told them of mistaking Mabel for Dipper, how she tried to pretend to be Dipper but then he’d seen through it. He did not include how long it took him to see through it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He explained the conversation they had that led into the dance. Then how he’d tried once again to get her to come with him; to be happy with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I lost her again. That’s it, that’s the end. The love of my life has chosen her life in a cage over me,” Tad sighed bitterly. Was it really so bad that Tad wanted to show her a world where everything wasn’t planned out for her? He just didn’t understand why she would pick a life she so obviously hated over him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill glared at his first mate and scoffed loudly. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He asked with a sneer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Tad gasped in surprise. Bill’s response to the heartbreaking tale even surprised Pyronica and Wendy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you love this girl?” Bill asked instead of responding to Tad’s gasp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! Or course!” Tad spat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does she love you?” Bill demanded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think so-,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No ‘I thinks’! Does the girl love you?! Yes or no?” Bill demanded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad opened his mouth to ask how the hell he’d know something like that but then began to really think on it. Mabel hadn't ran away because she hated him, she wouldn’t have kissed him twice if she disliked him. His powers couldn’t force anyone to do anything against their will. Only remove a person's reservations and doubts for a short amount of time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad straightened his shoulders. “Yes, I believe she does.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill nodded and backed Tad up, poking him in the chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then </span>
  <em>
    <span>bloody</span>
  </em>
  <span> fight for her, damn it!” Bill snarled. “This bullshit ‘giving her a choice' nonsense needs to stop! You’re a yellow bellied coward and a damnable fool! You think you're respecting her wishes but you haven’t even shown her the other option!” Bill shoved the man into a wall violently. “Have you told her anything about the life you want to give her? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Have you?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Or have you just said ‘run away with me’ and let her fill in the rest from her horrid life experience?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t just let the love of your life run away for no other reason then she has a duty to being unhappy!” Bill grabbed Tad by his collar and shook him. “You love her and she loves you, so fucking fight for her!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill was panting at the end, he released Tad's collar and backed away. Tad was frozen, he’d never heard Bill speak like that before or get so passionate before about love. Especially another’s love. He was so awed that he couldn’t move. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica was still as well, she hadn’t expected her captain to derail his anger of losing Dipper to yell at Tad for being an idiot in love. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy was just shocked. She knew Mabel loved this pirate but hadn’t known the full extent of his feelings for her! Wendy wanted a good and happy life for Mabel but had been at a loss if that could happen in her life. Could piracy really be the answer here?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you waiting for!? Our loves are out there trying to return to their cage! Move! We must run after them!” Bill demanded. He turned quickly, pulling his golden compass from his coat and determinedly heading for the exit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy didn’t even need to be dragged along anymore. If they were going after Mabel then she would be going with them! She would stick by Mabel’s side to fight for her in whatever capacity the young girl needed. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“-And then I let go of the rope and said ‘fire your common on me!’. I dared him to send me careening to my death in the icy waters!” Mabel excitedly re-told Dipper of the adventures she had already experienced. He’d heard of her swordplay lessons, which he was a bit jealous of, and her growing bond with an ex-pirate named Wendy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s amazing! And he just went away?” Dipper asked. He was so proud of his sister, she had truly stood up for herself. After all the days that she had wilted when Gideon moved to control her it was reassuring that she would now be brave enough to fight for herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! He raised his sails and we got away!” Mabel was grinning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Little fella, you are a legend,” Soos’ laughed. They were all sitting at the end of the dock. Soos’ had his toes dipped into the water, sitting next to Dipper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel held Dippers hand tight on his other side, their fingers intertwined in an almost desperate grasp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But then we got here,” Mabel sighed and began to explain their uncles’ decision to leave her with the Governor and her resulting argument with said Governor. “And Wendy and I decided come look for you, that’s when I ran into Tad again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You met up with Tad?!” Dipper gasped, snapping his head to look at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel curled into herself a bit, nodding, and explained what happened with the Gentleman Pirate. “It wasn’t like I wanted to abandon you, but I also really wanted to say yes to him,” Mabel turned her head away. “I’m a selfish girl! A handsome man sings to me and I almost gave into him!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabes,” Dipper squeezed her hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, don’t tell me it’s okay!” Mabel cried softly. “I should be content, I should be happy with what I have. I have a comfortable life, I have you, and I will never have to worry about anything!” Mabel shook her head in desperation. “So why can’t I be happy?! Why do I dream of a life spent on the sea!? Dipper, what is wrong with me?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper frowned at her before letting go of her hand to hug her to his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing is wrong with you,” Dipper whispered to her. “I also hate this life of ours Mabel, I-I don't want to go back,” he admitted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t?” She asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course I don’t! You are the only good thing about that life!” He reassured her. “But I know my place, we have a duty. Father raised me to replace him, I must return. That doesn’t mean you have too.” He looked at her meaningfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Mabel pulled away from the hug, she looked at her brother with wide eyes. “Dip! How could you ever suggest such a horrible thing?! Separating, never seeing each other again.... that’s too much! Dipper, you are my everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper resisted the urge to cry, he took her hand again. “I know! But what else is there? Mabel we are not savvy enough to survive without the court, you are lucky enough to have a man you love in return offering you safe haven!” Soos’s hand rubbed his back. “I do not have that Mabel. Captain Bill only wants my body, he proved that when he moved on so quickly when I ran away.” Dipper breathed out. “At the very least you can find happiness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not without you!” Mabel punched down with her free hand to hit the dock. “I could never leave you Dipper, what would the court say if you were the noble to lose his sister? I could never live with myself if that happened to you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What other choice do we have?” Dipper demanded the answer. “I cannot go back to that cad of a captain and you can’t go back to a life of a controlled existence! Mabel, I just want what is best for you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel opened her mouth to argue until Soos’ cleared his throat. “You little fellas have another option, you know.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper and Mabel turned to him, blinking in unison. They’d gotten so caught up in their tiff that they had forgotten him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Another option?” Dipper asked. His voice was so small and insecure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You fellas could come hide in my house,” he grinned at them. “You won’t be able to have the comfort you're used to and you’ll have to work, but once your uncles’ leave and those pirates sail out, you could just stay here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt speechless. He was slowly tightening his grip on Mabel as something uncoiled in his chest. Mabel also tightened her hold as she began to cry silently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know it’s not much but you’d be together, and you could even send notice to your uncles’ to assure them you are okay. Dipper you could come work with me on the plantation and Mabel you could get a job in one of the taverns. I still remember your singing voice and I’m sure you could make good wages doing that!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We could just stay?” Mabel whispered, awe filling her voice. She looked out to sea, her bright eyes catching along the calm waves. “We could just stay.” Mabel began to laugh, a light bell like laughter as she laid back on the dock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper joined her, laying back on the dock to look up at the sky with her. The sun was going down now, the light just barely beginning to fade. The stars were slightly visible above them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The day is ending, but I feel like-,” Dipper paused, a shaking insecure grin pulling at his cheeks. The more he thought about simply turning away from it all and staying with Soos’ the happier and more secure he began to feel. “It’s a whole new day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel turned her head to lay her cheek against the moist wood and look at her brother. “It will be our personal Galway,” she whispered. “We can be free.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Free,” Dipper whispered with reverence. That was a dream they’d never thought they could have before now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could fall in love with whoever I want,” Mabel declared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper’s cheeks hurt from his smile. “I could study, no more politics! I’ll become an astronomer, or a historian! Maybe even something that doesn’t even have a name yet, because I’ll discover it!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And we can dance, no stuffy waltz for us. Finally I can teach you to jig without someone screaming about your ‘weak’ body.” Mabel continued their dreaming, planning their future in the stars above them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anything you fellas want!” Soos’ promised them. “And if you ever have the urge to be pirates again I’m sure Melody would take you on her ship.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel and Dipper turned to grin at each other in pure glee. It all just sounded too good to be true. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three sat for a long time, just silently contemplating how easy this decision had been to come to once they knew they could be happy together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember that song mom used to sing at dad?” Dipper suddenly asked. Mabel looked to him curiously. “When he started planning our future, she’d always start singing it at him in that mocking way she had.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I remember. The words escape me but I remember the reference to Galway. It’s why we thought Galway was some haven of freedom,” Mabel laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Boy were we surprised,” Dipper chuckled back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think dad knew how unhappy that life made us?” Mabel suddenly asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper bit his lip as the stars slowly became more and more visible. “He found his perfect noble wife, mom was everything to him. I think he was naive enough to believe we would find the same.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes..... noble mother,” Mabel muttered. In her mind she felt a small spark of resentment. She knew mother wasn’t who she said she was and dad must have known. Apparently it was fine for him to break the rules but not them. “Dipper, mom wa-, she wasn’t-,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper squeezed her hand. “I know,” he whispered. He did know. Their mother had been far too kind to be a real noble. They had been lied to. “But she was our mother, and he was our father. They loved us, even if the way they loved made us unhappy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel sniffled, her eyes fixated on the sky. The stars reflected off her cinnamon eyes, matching Dippers sparkling wide eyes in a mirror image. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think they’d be proud of us? Support our decision?” she asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper tilted his head so their matching brown locked mixed and their heads touched. He thought of their mother. The strong and happy woman that would smile and laugh whenever they spoke of being pirates. Then he thought of their father who always wanted Dipper to grow into his own man, and for Mabel to find a loving life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do,” he whispered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ kept mostly silent as the two young siblings quietly discussed their future and their past. He always knew they were special children and so with a grin he began to hum. His hum turned to whistling, the tune was familiar to all three. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Look how the lights of the town,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mabel sang despite having said that she didn’t remember the lyrics. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The lights of the town are shining now,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper continued. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The twins grinned at each other and began to sing the lyrics together. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Tonight I’ll be dancing around, I’m off on the road to Galway now.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper laughed, completely content in the moment. He took ownership of the song. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Look how she’s off on the town, she’s off on the search for sailors though.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper sang, poking his sister in the side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ picked up the next bit of lyrics. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“There’s fine fellas here to be found. She’s never been one to stay at home,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he sang in his loud and off pitch voice. He drummed his hands to the beat and the two siblings suddenly sprang up straight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Home you’ll go and it's there you’ll stay!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dipper and Mabel grinned as they looked at each other sternly, mimicking the pose their mother took when mocking their father. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“And you’ve work to do in the morning!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel jumped to stand, pulling Dipper up with her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Give up your dream of going away.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she spun Dipper around in a clumsy replica of a waltz; laughing all the way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Forget your sailors in Galway!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper finished. The siblings began to break down in laughter. Neither planned to continue the song but Soos’ leapt up and ran off the dock only to return a moment later with a fiddle. The man began to play the jaunty tune. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper didn't like to dance, in fact he hated it but.... dancing with his sister. How could he ever lose that chance?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper extended a hand to Mabel, relishing in her gasp of delight. Maybe this was stupid, men were lining up to see what was going on.  This could very well draw their demons to them but Dipper wasn't thinking about that. His soul focus was Mabel and this single moment in time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel took his hand and they began to dance. Dipper’s steps were awkward and ill timed. Mabel’s graceful and like she was born to move. Yet they fit together so perfectly. They both began to sing together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú, Téir abhaile riú, Mhearai. Téir abhail gus fan sa bhaile</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mar tá do mhargadh déanta!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the irish words flowed swiffly off their tongues. Mabel spun her brother around, twisting them until they were back to back and jigging around. They made the dock shake under their boots.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Come now and follow me down. Down to the lights of Galway where, there's fine sailors walking the town and waiting to meet the ladies there.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper”s voice grew in volume as he took Mabel's hand and they excitedly made their way to Soos’. The man played the fiddle fast and expertly at the start of the dock. Both brunettes circled him, laughing and singing as the growing crowd cheered them on. They become lost in the song and their own merriment.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel, loving the attention, grabbed onto the dock piling. She spread her other arm out and sang the next line for them.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Watch now he'll soon be along, he's finer than any sailor so......”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked around frantically, checking his compass every few seconds to make sure he was on the right track. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Keep up!” Bill growled to Tad at his side, as he sprinted through groups. Bill had just realized that he could really be in love. Finally in love. So he wasn’t just about to give up Pinetree for anything!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The crowds began to get denser the further he followed the point of his gold compass. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound of a fiddle picked up, which wasn’t strange on its own. Pirates often played music in the streets or whenever they were on a break. Sometimes even had full plays performed on the docks or on their ship decks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was strange is that Dipper would be there. He would have thought he’d be already begging for shelter in the lazy Governors manor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was no worry, if Dipper wasn’t at the Governor’s that just meant less work for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill slowed as the crowd became too thick to easily move through. Accompanying the sound of the fiddle Bill began to hear singing. He immediately recognized the sound of Dipper’s lovely voice. Falling a little more in love at the sound of his singing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Come on now pick up your spoons. He's waiting to hear you play them WHOO!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Bill looked over the crowd and gasped softly at the scene. All around pirates clapped to the beat as a large man jigged around playing his fiddle for two brunette young adults. Dipper and Mabel danced around the man, large smiles on their faces. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill grinned at the opportunity presented. He turned to Pyronica and quietly gave her an order to get to the ship and sail it to this port. She nodded and spirited off. Bill turned back to the scene and softened at the sight. Dipper wasn't exactly dancing, more like he was moving in place and being led around in circles by his sister. The girl was moving with a grace that most could never grasp, her feet popped off the wooden dock with the beat and she twirled with all her tiny might.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Here today and she's gone tomorrow and next she's going to Galway.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mabel sang joyously. She shimmid her way over towards Dipper and took his hands as she jumped around him.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Jiggin' around and off to town and won't be back until morning!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad finally joined him at his side and Bill noted the way he sucked in a gasp at the sight of the girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the first time Tad could say he’d seen her truly happy. Seeing her with that wide grin, a sight blush on her face, and her body moving to the beat Tad knew that this was how she was meant to be. This was Mabel as a self realized person and he never wanted to see her any other way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú, Téir abhaile riú, Mhearai Téir abhail gus fan sa bhaile, Mar tá do mhargadh déanta!”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Bill raised a brow at the seamless way the two sang the irish lyrics. It was yet another piece of the puzzle to the mystery. Mabel bounced away and faced the crowd with a mischievous grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take it away Dip!” she yelled as she dragged Dipper in front of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper looked a little bashful for a moment, which Bill found adorable, but then he began to sing. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Off with a spring in my step The sailors are searching Galway for-,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper began before pulling Mabel back and she laughed. She got the hint and added in her voice as well.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “A young lady such as myself, for reels and jigs and maybe more!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span> “Stay here and never you mind The lights of the town are blinding you,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper sang to the girl. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>The sailors they come and they go.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Bill snickered at the obvious dig at Tad. He moved to try and push through the crowd again. He needed to get to them both, so he could throw them on the ship as soon as it arrived.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “But listen to what's reminding you.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper cupped her cheek, stopping her dance to pull her close.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Handsome men surrounding you.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She laughed, taking his hand and they spun together.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Dancing a reel around you!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Bill laughed when Mabel suddenly looked serious and began to back her brother up with a mocking sternness to her face. ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Home you'll go and it's there you'll stay!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper seemed to get the gist of what she was doing and smiled crookedly at her. He imitated her stance and sang back at her.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “And you've work to do in the morning! Give up your dream of going away, forget your sailors in Galway!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Bill furrowed his brow at the wording of the song. It sounded so happy, and they looked happy... So why was this song about giving up one's dreams? Bill tried to push through again but it was difficult. He glanced around through the dancing and clapping crowd and growled. Ten feet away from him stood Ford and his twin. They were also trying to get through the crowd to the other set of twins. Luckily it seemed the two hadn’t noticed Bill.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked back to Dipper, happy and carefree Dipper, and just knew he needed to grab him first. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Téir abhaile riú.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper’s voice spurred him on. Bill shoved and bashed on heads. He forced his way throught the crowd with no care of others anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tad! Look to your left and get a move on!” Bill shouted over the fiddle at the man. He was still staring at Mable like her beauty had been a new fact to him! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Téir abhaile riú.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The man shook his head and began trying to shove his way through as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Téir abhaile riú, Mhearai. Téir abhail gus fan sa bhaile, Mar tá do mhargadh déanta!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper threw his head back and laughed. Mabel threw her body left and right as she frolcked under the attention they were attracting. Mabel’s grip slipped and he ended up crashing to the ground. He laughed at first but then the crash caused him to see something. He spotted Bill working his way through the crowd that had gathered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper's eyes widened and he yelped when Mabel dragged him back up to his feet. She was so enhanced by the moment, their song, and the high of the crowd that she couldn't feel his tugging at her hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel!” Dipper tried to get her attention. This had been a mistake! They should have hidden the moment that came to their decision! He felt like such an idiot.  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Listen to the music flow,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mabel sang. The two of them had been pushing and pulling each other around in their dance this whole time. It didn't get through to her that now his pulling at her was serious! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, Mabel! Listen-!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm falling for the flow of home.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper looked over to see Bill was even more furiously pushing through the crowd. Dipper’s face paled and he tried to push Mabel towards the dock but then he spotted The Rift slowly making its way to the dock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soos’! We need to run!” Dipper shouted at the man but he was completely distracted by his own fiddle playing. “Shit, shit, shit!” No one was hearing him!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I'm home to dance till dawning!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mabel laughed as she forced Dipper into a waltz like stance and began to jump around in a twisting motion with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill looked to Tad, who was having a much easier time getting through the crowd, he gave him a nod to grab Dipper and Mabel as soon as he could. Dipper had seen him and was trying to escape but the crowd and his own sister were making it into an impossible feat. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Go home with you!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The girl sang. She twisted Dipper closer to their uncle who was almost through the crowd.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Go home with you,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mabel sang. Dipper grabbed her shoulder and tried to shake her. She only laughed and shook him back.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Go home with you, Mary go home with you and stay at home!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tad reached for her and missed when someone crashed into him. He was crushed between the dancing bodies of the crowd as she twisted away. She never even noticed she had almost been grabbed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Because your match is made.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Stay a while and we'll dance together now as the light is falling.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dipper pulled Mabel away when hands reached out of the crowd to grab her. He did his best to protect her even while she stayed completely oblivious to the danger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We'll reel away till the break of day!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Bill ducked under the crowd and reached for the two when the girl tripped. She dragged down both of them towards his outstretched hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper yelped and shoved Mabel mid trip when hands reached for them again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And dance together till morning-</span>
  </em>
  <span> ack!” Mabel was knocked out of her reveralery when a hand wrapped around the scruff of her neck. The fiddle continued even as she was dragged into the crowd and someone began running with her in his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel was too shocked to struggle. Her head whipped around wildly for Dipper as she was tossed over a shoulder and who held her began to run at full speed down the dock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper had tried to grab hold of Mabel but had been dragged in the opposite direction. He was pulled into the crowd and his head knocked into the hilt of someone's sword at their hip. His vision swam as he watched Mabel get swallowed by the crowd. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper felt himself get thrown over a shoulder and who ever held him began to run away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tad! Leave Mabel for now, we have to get out of here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stan, chase after Dipper!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel and Dipper spotted each other in the crowd being pulled in opposite directions. The two calls told them exactly who had taken them!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Dipper screamed. He struggled and reached for his sister.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ship had entered the small dock and Bill put his hand to his mouth to whistle. Amorphous grabbed a rope and leapt from the ship.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Release him!” Stan ran after Bill but it was to late. Bill bundled Dipper up in his arms and chucked him at Amorphous as he swang by. Dipper screamed as he went sailing through the air in the lookouts arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy saw the moment Mabel was grabbed and sprinted after the girl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad looked back at Ford who was carrying his love away. He promised himself he would free her before he turned and sprinted up the dock. He grabbed the redhead as he went as she seemed to be a new member based on how she had stuck with Bill through this hunt for the twins. With the woman tucked under his arm, he grabbed Bill by the jacket and jumped off the end of the dock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad ignored the scream of the redhead as he took three steps over the water, his body hovering. Bill was laughing in glee as Tad walked on water. He jumped as he got closer to the ship and managed to leap all the way onto the deck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl shoved away from him and gaped in astonishment. They left her to sputter and choke out worlds about demons and in-human things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Down at the dock Ford and Stan glared as Dipper was carried away, the ship sailing out the moment the captain touched down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ford, that wasn’t human. Did you forget to tell me something?” Stan growled at his twin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Later, we need to set out!” Ford turned to begin running back to their ship. Stan checked over Mabel but found her to have passed out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was the problem with women on adventures like this. She was dead to the world, what if they hadn’t been the ones to grab her? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Soos’ glared at the two men, blocking their path. The crowd had dispersed now but Soos’ wasn’t going to let these strangers just take one of his little fellas! “What are you doing with my little fella?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ford drew his sword. “You will move, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stan drew his sword as well. They had no idea who this man was but they were wasting time. Dipper was already halfway out of the port and they needed to get moving. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ drew a dagger from his belt and the three men prepared for battle. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Tad watched the dock until it was out of sight. He felt sick with himself. If he hadn’t let Mabel run away then he would have her. He could convince her to be free! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Bill put a hand on his shoulder. “On a normal day I would have let us stay and fight for her.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad snapped into his role of first mate at the sound of stress and worry ringing in Bill’s voice. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mcgucket,” Bill sighed. Tad understood immediately how important this was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do we know what they are?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, but it’s a child. From what Mcgucket said she’s either some kind of ice fae, or a witch. We only have a few days until her execution.” Bill squeezed his shoulder. “But I promise. We will get her.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks mate,” Tad smiled. “Now off you go, you just got your boy back. Why don’t you welcome him home?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill grinned. He turned away to look over his deck. He spotted Dipper’s brown locks. He was hidden behind the redheaded lassie, crying into her chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still had no idea why Tad had grabbed her as well but it made Pyronica happy, so he hadn’t mentioned it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill leaped over the railing and approached his treasure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pinetree! Welcome ho-,” Bill froze when the brunette pulled away from the redhead to glare at him. Finally he noticed something that should have been obvious. “What the hell?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Pyronica asked from the helm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We got the wrong twin!” Bill shouted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad came running from his spot on the quarterdeck and his eyes zeroed in on the brunette. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“MABEL?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Swordplay Foreplay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“MABEL?” Tad gasped from the quarterdeck. His eyes lit up when he confirmed for himself that it was Mabel. She glared fiercely at him but all he could feel was relief. He had felt horrible for leaving her behind after realizing how unfair he was being. He would show her what wonders could become her life this time! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad jumped over the railing of the quarterdeck, only needing to take three large steps to get to her with his long legs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay away!” Mabel screamed at him. Her shout made him freeze up. After their dance he didn’t know what he expected but fury hadn’t been it. “You keep away from me!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel, it’s okay-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t listen to him!” Wendy yelled. She pulled Mabel back and cradled her in her arms. “He isn’t normal! When he grabbed me he-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“KEYHOLE!” Bill yelled to cut off the redhead, summoning the male siren. “Throw Miss Red in the brig! Now!” He couldn’t have the woman telling Mabel anything until Tad got the chance to explain for himself!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! Wait, Mab-” Keyhole jumped forward, hauled the girl up by her waist and slapped a hand over her mouth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get off her!” Mabel jumped up as well and beat her small fists over Keyhole’s arms. Mabel screamed and growled. She clawed at his blue tinged skin and even moved to bite at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad raced forward and grabbed Mabel by her shoulders so Keyhole wasn’t dealing with more than one struggling woman. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! Get off me! Release my friend this instant!” Mabel pushed and shoved at his arms, resisting his tender affections holding her back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy struggled as long as she could, trying to keep Mabel within her sight. This crew was dangerous! That man flew over the bloody water! He was some type of freak or demon! Mabel was in danger and she could do nothing about it as she was shoved under deck towards the soggy depths of the brig.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel stomped on Tads shoe, causing the man’s to cry out and release her. Mabel simmered in rage as she spun around to face the pirate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bring her back to me this instant!” Mabel ordered him. Tad did not back away from her fury and even looked as he wished to embrace her. She was so upset she felt as if she might attack him if he tried to comfort her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can’t do that, Shooting Star,” spoke the captain from behind Tad. Mabel glanced at him and winked further into her rage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You!” Mabel growled. “My brother is not some toy for you! How dare you pull us apart, how dare you rip us away from our Galway!” she shouted at him. She turned fully to him, intent to ignore Mr. Strange. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa now,” Bill chuckled at the upset girl. “I’m the only one in this fight wishing to give you and Pinetree any semblance of freedom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel narrowed her eyes at the man. He seemed to be bragging. It was like he thought his insistence of kidnapping them was for their own good! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel was just about to yell at him that it was not his prerogative to decide such things for her or Dipper but he began to speak again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Turn this ship around, Pyronica! We will go after my loot!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Captain,” Tad sighed, stopping the captain from turning the ship back toward Tortuga. “We have a mission, Dipper is not lost to you, and he can wait three days.” The captain looked like he was sulking in a distinctly child-like manner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You will leave my brother alone!” Mabel moved to confront him but Tad took her arm to hold her back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel, please calm down,” he pleaded with her. Mabel snarled and continued to try and attack the captain. She didn’t care if Tad was most definitely the man she loved, he was protecting her brother’s tormentor! Mabel would choose her brother over anyone and everyone! This pirate would dare try to cage her brother, so she hated him and everyone associated with him! That included Tad!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad frowned as the girl just continued to snarl and try to viciously attack his captain. He tried to remind her of the happiness they could have with his next words. “It’s okay,” he whispered to her. Trying to invoking the song he had sang to her just hours before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The result of his words was visceral and immediate. Mabel turned sharply, knocking his hands from her shoulders. She raised a hand and back handed him across the face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay?!” Mabel leveled him with a look that could freeze over oceans and an intensity that would cause hell hounds to run away. “You people have stolen mine and my brother’s happiness and freedom away!” Many of the crew looked confused. Even Tad looked at her like he didn’t quite understand. “You locked up my friend! And have kidnapped me! What do you expect, Mr. Strange?! For me to fall in line and love you?” Mabel laughed in his face. “You have proven you are no different from every other man who wants nothing more from me than my total obedience! You don’t want me, Strange, you want your idea of me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel! I’m trying to show you what you could have here!” Tad argued. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do away with your good intentions, sir.” Mabel clenched her fists. “I do not care for them! Abandon your silly dreams about the girl I could be because you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do not</span>
  </em>
  <span> know me!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please,” Tad begged her. “Mabel, I have no interest in stealing anything from you. I just want to release you from nobility. Please, just see the opportunity to test out this life!” Tad tried to take her hands but she backed away from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t get it,” she hissed at him. “I don’t need to test out this life. I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> you to free me from anything! I already freed myself!” Tad blinked in shock, feeling icy fingers wrap around his heart. “Me! I did! And I didn’t need you to make that choice for me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel.” Tad stepped forward. Bill was watching closely, also taking in the information that apparently the twins had made some changes while out of their sight. How were they supposed to convince them to give this a chance if they’d already broken down their cage themselves?! “Give me a chance-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mr. Strange, I would suggest not entering a battle of wits with me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill snickered behind his hand at the flabbergasted look on Tad’s face. It would seem a sharp tongue was a shared trait between the twins. “Is that so?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel turned sharply to glare at the blonde captain. “Very rightfully so! I am an educated woman, good sirs. I did not waste my days in my brother's knickers, words are my weapon and I will slay you all with my tongue!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad glanced at Bill. The man had called him a yellow bellied coward, a man who didn’t fight for what he wanted. So instead of pleads, instead of begging, what came out of Tad’s mouth was possibly the dumbest word of courage he’d ever spoken. “Promise?” he asked slyly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel gasped indignantly at him and Bill burst out laughing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel’s eyes narrowed at him and she tsked in her throat. She marched right up to him and stuck a pointed and polished finger in his chest. Tad felt the fear of God when he looked into her cold stare. He was a man renowned for battle, he had looked into the void and laughed but this woman made him gulp in fear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take me to war, sir,” Mabel breathed. Her large eyes swirled with the horrors she envisioned putting him through. He could only guess at just how much she despised him in this moment. “Oh honey, I dare you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel and Tad engaged in a standoff. Neither had anything else to say to the other. To everyone it was clear this was going nowhere until they both calmed themselves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pyronica,” Bill called, ending the standoff. Mabel huffed and turned away from the pirates, crossing her arms and sticking up her nose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes Captain?” the pink haired woman answered, tearing her eyes from the shipwreck that was Tad and Mabel’s argument. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would you please show Miss Shooting Star to Tad’s cabin? I’ve got a feeling Taddy won’t be using it tonight,” Bill laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel glared at the woman that approached her and ripped her arm away when she tried to take it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can very well follow you without having you leading me like a dog!” Mabel snapped at her. Pyronica stepped back and chuckled before waving her forward towards the door that led to Tad’s cabin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, this way then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel huffed again and stomped her way below deck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill walked over and clapped a hand on Tad’s shoulder. “Looks like you didn't pick such a delicate flower after all!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tad wished he could punch the man out right then and there. He glared at the man before blowing out a harsh breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should be more concerned that we have no navigator rather than focusing on my love life,” Tad growled before stomping away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, I actually have to chart a course,” Bill pouted, missing his Pinetree more than ever.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few of the crew groaned in the background, some even daring to make bets if they would actually reach their destination in time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel took the door to the room she was shown to and slammed it in the pirate woman’s face. For a long time Mabel just stared at the aged wood and seethed in her fury. How dare that man try to act like her hero while actively kidnapping her! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gave her answer to him, she said no! She had most definitely misjudged the pirate! He was no gentleman, he was a fiend! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel stamped her foot before throwing herself on the bed in a dramatic fashion. She just felt defeated at the moment. She’d had everything and then it had been ripped away in such a cruel fashion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a stubborn jut of her lip Mabel shed her jacket and even scuffed in disgust at the needle work on her lapel. It was in the shape of a shooting star. That was at least one question answered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a prayer that Wendy was still safe, Mabel did the only thing she could. She drifted off to sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dipper groaned as he opened his eyes. His head hurt and his body felt weak from fainting. It took a moment for Dipper to remember what had happened. Bill had grabbed Mabel and Ford had grabbed him. Each thought they’d taken the other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What an absolute hellscape of a situation! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper jumped up, ready to battle an army or at least ready to swim an ocean, to find his sister. Then he almost immediately toppled over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah there, little fella.” Dipper looked up to see an injured Soos’ had been snoozing by his bedside, awoken by Dipper when he toppled over. “Everything is okay, calm yourself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper looked around the bare wooden room and felt tension swell in his gut. His sister was in the hands of that pirate! He bit his lip, causing it to swell with blood. He didn’t know what Bill would do with her. He couldn’t trust him not to hurt her and he also couldn’t trust him not to try to force a relationship to develop between her and his first mate. As for what to do about his worry, the only thing he could do was figure out what had happened, then make a plan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soos’, where am I? What happened?” Dipper asked, pulling himself up and back on the bed with help from Soos’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper looked up to see Soos’ was actually injured. He had bandages all up his arms and over his hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You bumped your head when your uncle grabbed you, it knocked you out cold. I didn’t know who they were and assumed they were kidnappers, we had a bit of a scuffle.” Soos’ grinned. Then he laughed a bit like he wasn’t incredibly injured. “Once we realized that neither was the enemy, they invited me to come along in the effort to find Mabel.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper nodded. He took in the information, his mind beginning to get back to working order. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do they know we decided to abandon nobility? Did you tell them?” Dipper asked. He could feel the gentle sway of the ship and knew Soos’ hadn’t lied to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“After they tried to give you to that Governor to be sent back to England? No.” Soos’ shook his head, seemingly disappointed in something. Dipper could also feel the disappointment that his uncles had apparently wanted to leave him behind. Although considering how Mabel and him were rotating out who was kidnapped, it was probably smart to just start sending them off to England whenever they got the chance. Only, Dipper didn’t want to see England ever again if he could help it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, once we get Mabel back we can break the news to them together,” Dipper decided. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think they’ll be okay with it, Fella?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper frowned before he squared his shoulders and stood. Even with his legs shaking he felt the resolve in his decisions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Even if they are against it, they have no right to judge Mabel and I. They abandoned nobility long ago to chase their own freedom, why should I not do the same?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soos’ got up as well. “Then let’s go get your sister!” He grinned, his head brushing the ceiling of the tiny cabin they occupied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s the time?” Dipper asked as he looked around. Sadly he had no clothes to change into unless he wanted to dress like a woman again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The sun is just beginning to rise,” Soos’ announced. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, that means my uncles must be up. I think I know where Bill is heading, and I think I can get this ship there before him!” Dipper grinned as he marched his way to the door and stepped out into the dark hallways. He quickly mounted the stairs and headed for the door leading to the deck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dipper stepped into the early morning sea air and readied himself for battle. They couldn’t be more than a few hours behind Bill if his uncles shipped out right after him. He would be getting his sister back. Nothing, even his own life, was more important than saving Mabel. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Mabel swung open the cabin door the next morning ready for battle. She had navigated many turbulent situations in her life and she knew how to use leverage to her advantage. A girl had to gain the skill to identify her leverage and how to use it in this world. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel could see that the pirates were trying to seduce her with promises of freedom and adventure so she’d look Tad’s way. It was fine enough leverage for her plan to reunite with Wendy. They’d both need to be ready when the Stans come for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel marched out into the new light of the day and immediately looked to the helmsman and captain standing on the quarterdeck. They seemed to be arguing over a map and pointing furiously in different directions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she walked across the deck her eyes caught Tad’s. He lit up when he saw her but Mabel simply turned her nose up at him. He deflated as she walked sternly passed him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Captain Cipher,” Mabel called from just below the helm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blond man paused in his argument and peaked over the railing with a raised brow. “Well if this isn’t déjà vu,” he muttered. “Yes, Shooting Star?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You claim you wish for me to join this life, yes?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man tilted his head in a dangerous way and smirked down at her. He leaned his elbows on the edge of the railing to fold his body over and meet her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is the claim,” Bill answered her. She looked exactly like Dipper had the first day he’d been aboard. Sneaky, over confident, and determined.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then you see no problem with me going about my regular schedule?” Mabel continued her line of questioning, slowly cornering him with words. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No problem at all. Eventually we will have to find a job for you, but for now you can go about your business.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel didn’t plan to be here long enough for getting any kind of job but didn’t dare say that. Instead she continued on with her plan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then you have no quandary with allowing me to continue my sword fighting lesson,” Mabel said definitively. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Bill snapped, suddenly seeing her game. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be needing my teacher, if you would kindly release her?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill glared down at the girl who managed to back him into a corner. Normally he was the one that talked circles around people! “If you wish to learn then Pyronica is one of the best on the seas, she will teach you. Or even Strange could.” There was no way he could release Red. Tad had shown her what they really were and she was sure to reveal it to Mabel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me, sir, but if I recall right, you said I could continue with my regular schedule. Wendy is my sword play teacher and she teaches at sun rise.” Mabel daringly raised her chin at him, indicating that she would not yield. “Or should I take you for a liar?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill clenched his jaw. He was many things but a liar he was not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Strange!” Bill called his first mate. The man ran over, his eyes shifting to Mabel every few seconds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye captain?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go fix your mistake and then bring her up,” Bill ordered before looking at one of the Eye Bats meandering around. “You! Go get a few training swords from the store room.” The man was off the moment Bill's order was issued, Tad already descending the stairs in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel smirked triumphantly. “Much obliged captain!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica giggled as she watched Bill’s fuming back. The man was beyond pissed that the girl managed to talk circles around him. It would seem the young Pines twins were a force to be reckoned with when angered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel preened as the helmsman laughed and the captain gave her a look of spiteful respect. “Well aren’t you a wunderkind,” he spat, smiling despite himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can see the resemblance now,” Pyronica said, still laughing. “They’re both perspicacious little spitfires!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill grinned as he thought of a jovial jab to get back at the girl. “Neither twin is normal but the lad at least acts his gender. Shooting Star is more of a ladette than a lass!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel glared at the man. How dare he call her a boorish crude girl! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t you say they are both ladettes considering we found the lad in a dress?” Pyronica quipped back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel had a thousand things she wanted to say but it simply wasn’t worth her energy, especially when Tad returned with a rather stricken looking Wendy. Mabel ran to the woman, immediately engulfing her in a hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wendy! I’m so glad you are alright!” Mabel held her tightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gods, Mabel!” Wendy held her back, her hands shaking. She had spent the entire night worrying for Mabel’s safety. She had thought about it all night, that pirate Strange had walked over the water. He had to be some kind of sprite. If a sprite was in this crew then it was a sure bet the rest of the crew was not normal. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel sighed. “Only bruised my pride.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have your teacher now, please begin the lesson.” Bill appeared behind the two and they both glared at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lesson?” Wendy asked softly to Mabel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told them I’d only accept you as my sword play teacher to get you out of the brig,” Mabel quietly explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill held out two wooden swords, somehow guessing that Mabel used a rapier and Wendy a cutlass. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel, take your position,” Wendy instructed, seeing that the captain was waiting for them to begin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the Stans’ ship, no one paid any mind to Wendy training the captain's nephew but everyone gathered around to see the prisoner being allowed to teach the captive on this ship. Mabel shook her head as she walked to an emptied space and quickly took her stance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel held her sword aloft, her knee slightly bent with her right foot back and her left forward. Her wrist was twisted in the first position. Wendy had made Mabel take this position for great lengths to force her body to memorize it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As their routine dictated Wendy began to circle Mabel, looking for imperfections in her stance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy suddenly and aggressively swung her arm back and lashed Mabel in the thigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “Your stance is weak!” she chastised. “Using a rapier is fluidity yet being locking into the ground! Bend your knees a bit more and widen your stance. You have to be unmovable and strong!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel did as instructed, moving her foot forward and more out. She bent her knees more. The pose forced her to be on the balls of her feet, ready to leap in any direction. In her movement her arm dropped enough for Wendy to notice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next lashing came swiftly. “Do not lower your weapon! If you were in a fight you’d be dead! You must be ready to guard and attack in every step and motion!” Wendy yelled at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Damn,” Pyronica whistled. “I like her even more!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is rather intense.” Tad worried his lip. He was having trouble not running over to stop this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel did her best to ignore them, raising her arm more until her form was perfect. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good.” Wendy finished looking her over and then took her own stance in front of the girl. Her stance was different; it wasn’t as wide and she held her cutlass closer to her chest. Wendy had explained that because a cutlass was a slashing, bashing, and guarding weapon, it was best to keep it closer to the chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remember that the cutlass is heavier than your rapier. You must act quickly because it will be harder to guard against it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got it.” Mabel nodded before leaping forward with a jab. Wendy knocked her rapier aside with a single motion and struck her side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel! Have you learned nothing?” Wendy tsked. “It’s all step work, pivoting your steps to give yourself the most power, not just blindly thrusting!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a dance, Mabel!” Tad yelled from the side lines. The girl sent him a withering look before focusing back on Wendy, taking up her position again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel lunged forward and struck Wendy’s side, stepping out and to the side to avoid Wendy’s bashing motion with the wooden hilt of her sword. Wendy twisted her wrist as fast as lightning and swung at her. Mabel just barely managed to block the blow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are in cutting distance, Mabel!” Wendy stepped to the side, putting pressure on their clashed swords and then using the momentum to slide her sword up, then back down. The blow came quick and hard, knocking Mabel to the deck. She cupped her ear and waited for the ringing to stop before getting back up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill was mildly surprised when the girl pulled herself back up and into the first position, ready to try again. It would seem the female twin was not only tough in words but also in body. It was a stark contrast from her brother who seemed to have difficulty doing anything remotely straining. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bill, Pyronica, and Tad all watched for a while longer. The crowd around them was constantly fluctuating; men would stop by and watch a moment, then continue with their work before stopping by again. Tad was the obvious exception to this, He hadn’t moved, standing by ready to support the girl if she should need it in any way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Mabel was knocked down for the third time, Bill noticed the way Pyronica was staring starstruck at Red. He quickly decided to give her a hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your student looks a bit winded, how about a demonstration?” Bill grinned maliciously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy paused in her instructions to stare at the captain. She couldn’t help but shiver at the way he seemed to size her up with his one visible eye. She recalled what the first mate had said to her down in the brig. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You will not speak of what you witnessed.” He glared down at her. “I would like to be the one to tell Mabel, so if you should speak of it, you will see how evil I can be personally.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy gulped and didn't dare try to rise against him. She knew she didn’t have the same protection Mabel did in this situation. It did pay to have the first mate of a pirate ship be in love with you. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Wendy agreed, hoping her partner for this wouldn’t be the captain or the first mate. She could tell she was no match against either of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pyronica, why don’t you and Red show Mabel how it’s done?” Bill tilted his head at the woman. She grinned in joy. For a swordsman there was no better foreplay than a sparring match. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aye aye!” Pyronica was immediately pushing her way into the center. She pulled her two cutlasses from her belt and offered the hilt of one to Wendy. “You don’t mind cutting out the bullshit, do you? We’re both trained with a sword too well to be using fakes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy hesitantly took the sword, her knuckles brushing with the other woman’s. Wendy felt oddly nervous when the pink haired woman looked at her with such intensity and her flesh had been so warm. It all made Wendy feel off balance. This fight would not end in her favor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel stood, rubbing her new bruises and backed away. Tad was almost immediately at her side, trying to ask about her well being. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kindly step away, Mr. Strange, I’d bite my thumb at you if I weren’t above such crude mannerisms.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Strange pouted but did indeed back away from her. Mabel focused back on Wendy’s match. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy and Pyronica both took their positions, eying each other up. Wendy looked for the other woman's weakness but found her form perfect and her body strong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both stood tense as they waited to see who would make the first move. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica stepped forward with a quick foot and kicked the redhead in the gut, knocking her off balance. She then bashed her hilt at Wendy’s face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy moved with the kick, managing to avoid the hilt bash by using the kicks momentum. She fell onto her back and rolled until she was back on her feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy leaped off the balls of her feet and slashed at Pyronica’s legs, hitting her with the flat of her blade on her thigh. “Sloppy first move when you don’t know your opponent's skill level!” Wendy chided her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica blinked, rubbing her leg and then began to laugh. It had been such a quick defeat and never had an opponent lectured her before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite herself Wendy began to laugh as well, finding Pyronica’s laughter infectious. Wendy looked to Mabel. “Sword play isn’t a long dramatic battle. Most fights are decided in only three moves. You’ve been aiming for my torso most fights but notice how I went for her leg. There is less cloth covering a leg so your cuts will be deeper, and if you limit their movement, then you’ve won the fight. Keep that in mind: arms, legs, neck, and head, that’s where you should be aiming.” Mabel nodded, seemingly breathless after seeing such a skilled exchange. “Also keep in mind that when in a battle of life and death, there are no rules. Pyronica used her whole body for that attack. It was quite a bold move.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both women got back into their first position once Wendy finished giving whatever tips came to her mind from her short exchange with Pyronica. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy took her position and barely waited for Pyronica to take hers before she jumped forward. Wendy brought up her cutlass to block Pyronica’s defensive strike. They held swords, pushing steel against steel, their eyes locked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a single step Wendy pivoted, changing the motion of the clashed swords so Pyronica’s sword would slide off her own and the momentum would knock her into an awkward angle for a counter. Wendy continued the movement, pivoting forward to lash Pyronica’s back and then pivoting out of cutting distance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel! Remember to always keep your distance. You may think you’ve landed a killing blow but sometimes people can lash out in their final moments. Never let your guard down!” Wendy called without looking away to explain why she moved away after hitting her opponent in the spine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica was beaming! This was exciting, her crush was a real fighter! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Once more!” Pyronica quickly took up her first position. She had a good idea on Wendy’s strengths now. The woman may be a master at using momentum to her advantage! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright.” Wendy took her pose, smirking. She felt pretty confident considering she had outwitted her twice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy had to jump to the side when Pyronica jumped forward almost immediately. She swung out when she saw the woman’s back but Pyronica was ready for her this time and blocked the blow above her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy was about to pivot away when Pyronica stepped forward in a daring move that could have been the end of her if she wasn’t in complete control of her tiniest movements. Pyronica managed to use the angle of the sword to force the grip from Wendy’s hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica twisted, lunging at Wendy as she tried to stumble back. She thrust her sword in a cutting motion and they both froze with the sharp edge against Wendy’s throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And that’s a death blow.” Pyronica grinned. She slid her blade down and away, a thin line of blood dripping down Wendy’s neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pyronica returned her blade to her belt and suddenly grabbed Wendy by the collar of her shirt to yank her close. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy gasped as she was held close and felt a wet tongue lick up the blood on her neck. She made a surprise squeal in the back of her throat. Wendy was blushing furiously when Pyronica pulled away and smirked at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yum. Thanks for the match, you were good.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy backed away the moment she could, suddenly understanding that she was in a much worse situation than she thought. She believed she was only protecting Mabel’s innocence in this situation, but apparently she was protecting her own as well!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wendy coughed, trying to discreetly hide her blush. “Mabel, break’s over.” Wendy moved to take up her wooden cutlass again but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually. I have a better idea,” Tad spoke up, holding the redhead back. He looked over to Mabel and gathered his courage. He took his cutlass out and moved to the center. “Let me spar Mabel.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Wendy went into protective mode faster than a shark went for a fish. “She’s a novice with only a handful of lessons! There is no way she could beat you,</span>
  <em>
    <span> I </span>
  </em>
  <span>couldn’t beat you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not asking her to beat me, just to strike me. If she can I’ll let you both leave once we reach Port Renown, but if you can’t she must give me and this life a chance.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel stepped back, seeing a daunting challenge when presented. She wasn’t one to back down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you say?” Tad looked to Mabel, raising a brow at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel turned up her chin at him. “Do I also get a steel blade?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Tad looked to Bill, who grabbed one of the smaller Eye Bats and took his weapon. He tossed it into the space that had become a sparring ring. It clattered against the wood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mabel, you don’t have to. We can find a different escape,” Wendy called to her change. She didn’t want Mabel to bank her life on a fight with a pirate first mate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mabel took a deep breath before marching into the impromptu ring. She stooped down and picked up the sword. It was heavier than the wooden one, the bite of cold steel making her understand how serious swordplay was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can do this,” Mabel declared as she took her stance and faced Tad. “It’s just a dance, and I am an impeccable dancer.” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey guys I got a Beta! thank you to MindscapeWish!!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Fanart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sorry it isn't a chapter but i'm formally promising the next either tomorrow or definitely this week!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>THIS IS NOT MY ART. THIS WAS DRAWN FOR ME BY MY VERY TALENTED FRIEND <a href="https://www.instagram.com/riltilted/?hl=en">RILTI</a></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. What else is out there</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry guys for how long this took, I overestimated myself and took on more than I could. Works pretty busy and my wedding is finally coming up this month! I’ll try to get another chapter out soon!!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Grunkle Ford! Grunkle Stan!” Dipper ran excitedly up the quarterdeck to his uncles. They both turned and gasped in delight at seeing him up and about. </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper!” They opened their arms to him, holding him tight in their safe arms. “We were so worried about you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I knew you’d come for me,” Dipper assured them. He could practically hear the guilt in their voices. “I never doubted that.” He wanted them to understand that he knew they would fight for him. </p><p> </p><p>The Stans smiled down at him, excited to see him up. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper wanted to catch up with them, talk out his rearranging feelings of nobility. He wanted to tell them that he decided this life wasn’t for him, tell them he wanted a normal life! Dipper wanted hardships, struggles, ups and downs in his daily life. Dipper wanted to love like a fool, to laugh and dance like no one was watching him, but now wasn't the time. His sister was now in the hands of Cipher and they needed to make a plan. </p><p> </p><p>“What is our progress on finding Mabel?” Dipper cleared his throat and stepped back. He fell into his default setting of proper princeling. </p><p> </p><p>Ford gave Stan a look that Dipper couldn't decipher. </p><p> </p><p>“We are about two hours behind them but they disappeared behind the horizon and we can no longer track them by sight. Did you happen to overhear their next destination?”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper nodded and walked past his uncles over to their map. He looked it over with a critical eye. The Stan’s had marked where they had last seen The Rift and what their course had been at the time. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper picked up the sexton and checked the compass. It only took a moment to confirm his suspicions; Bill was heading to Port Renown. He had seemed too interested in that old fool’s silly story to not be headed there. Dipper allowed himself a moment to lament that he had begun to understand how the captain's mind worked before turning back to his uncles. </p><p> </p><p>“They are headed to Port Renown, look here.” Dipper pointed to the course he had charted out. “There is a sea current I've read about only two nautical miles to the east, if we used it we’d reach the port in only two days. With this ship's speed and-” Dipper paused to check the wind by wetting his finger and holding it up. He nodded satisfied before continuing, “-the wind behind us, we could beat them there!”</p><p> </p><p>Ford and Stan looked surprised, blinking at him like they hadn't been expecting Dipper to have much more than a guess. Ford looked to Stan in confusion. They hadn’t known Dipper was even interested in navigation and it wasn’t like they could trust a novice. They were experienced sailors and had made a trip like this hundreds of times.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, Port Renown.” Ford nodded and moved to the map. He took up the pen and began to chart out a completely different route than the one Dipper had. “We are only a few hours behind The Rift. With our ship's speed, we can catch up to them. We’re going to want to avoid a sea battle, so we should keep our distance until they dock.”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper clenched his fists. Did they not understand what it would mean to beat them there? They could call soldiers! Have an entire fleet ready to ambush those dastardly pirates! </p><p> </p><p>“But if we take my course we can beat them there,” Dipper jumped in, for a moment believing they just hadn’t understood him. </p><p> </p><p>“Look, kid.” Stan put a hand on his shoulder. “We’re both very glad that you are safe but this isn’t a game, those pirates that have your sister aren’t messing around. It would be better if you just let us handle this.” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper stepped back, hurt that they didn’t trust his intelligence and skill to aid in the rescue of his own sister. </p><p> </p><p>“But I’ve studied this! I know-“ <em> what I’m talking about... </em>Dipper felt his eyes water as he looked up at their stoic faces. Nothing had changed. He was still just a kid that was good for nothing except for taking on the family title. </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper, why don’t you go get yourself something to eat? You’ve been through a lot and you aren’t thinking straight at the moment.” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper nodded, a bitter frown over taking his face. They didn’t think he was strong enough to handle himself out here. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper turned without another word and headed back down into the ship. Frustration boiled up into his chest and he wanted to scream. He was near crying at how much his chest burned from the feeling. He walked blindly, trying to hold in his tears. If this is how they treated him, then how would they react when he said he wasn’t coming back? If they didn’t even trust that he had some semblance of a brain, would they really let him go? </p><p> </p><p>“Little fella?” Dipper looked up to find he’d walked back to the room he’d woken up in. Soos’ was looking down at him in worry. “What’s wrong?” He asked so kindly that Dipper broke. </p><p> </p><p>The tears freely ran down his face as he explained what happened. “I finally was beginning to think I might have a worth out here! But to them I’m still just that naive child, not even worth having an opinion to be able to save my sister!” </p><p> </p><p>Soos’ tsked in his throat and bundled Dipper into a hug. “Fella, just because they don’t see how strong you’ve become, doesn't mean you aren’t strong. They care for you, so I’m sure you’ll prove to them how much you’ve grown.” </p><p> </p><p>“But I don’t know how to do that if they don’t ever give me a chance! I can be more than a noble, I know I can!”</p><p> </p><p>Soos’ frowned but an idea came to his mind. “I could show you how to use a dagger... No one could deny you can take care of yourself if you can handle yourself in a fight.” </p><p> </p><p>“You’d really show me how to fight?” Dipper asked, feeling a bit better at the prospect of having some way to prove his worth. </p><p> </p><p>“I can’t show you swordplay, but I’m well equipped with daggers.” Soos’ stepped away to go through a pack he’d apparently brought along and pulled out a set of knives. “You ready to learn?” </p><p> </p><p>Dipper eyed the knives, beginning to grin in delight. These knives were nothing like the ornate dagger he’d uselessly tried to defend himself with. These were made for use, to kill and defend oneself with. Dipper had been ready for this for a long time. </p><p> </p><p>“Let’s do it.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
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</p><p>“Argh!” Mabel screamed in frustration while she thrusted her rapier at Tad’s thigh. He expertly dodged her attack and knocked her sword away. Mabel stumbled, her back showing to Tad, and he immediately took the chance to place his blade against her spine. </p><p> </p><p>“You are out of rhythm. You aren’t treating this like a dance, Mabel. I’ve seen how you move, you can do this, stop thinking of it like it’s somehow different,” Tad lectured her. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel turned to glare at him bitterly. She would rather have Wendy lash her with the wooden cutlass then have him not even fighting back. It was so frustrating because if he didn’t fight back it meant she was absolutely no threat to him! He wasn’t concerned about losing at all! </p><p> </p><p>“I am not thinking about them differently!” she gasped, out of breath. She’d lost count of how many times she’d attacked him. </p><p> </p><p>“Not consciously, but you're rushing. You are giving up on your step work to try and end the fight. Don’t. You must wait for the moment the rhythm gives you your best advantage.” </p><p> </p><p>“Do you ever shut up?” Mabel growled, taking her stance again. Pointing her blade at him, this time for sure she would strike him down. </p><p> </p><p>“What can I say? Love loosens the tongue.” Tad smirked at her as he got into his stance as well. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel narrowed her eyes, disbelief that he ever loved her running through her core. A man that truly loves her wouldn't be trying to tie her down like this, right? Although she’d never been in love before, so she could only guess. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel lunged forward once again, aiming for Tad’s thigh. Tad brought his sword up to block, their blades locking together as the pressure he kept on the steel kept her from countering. If she tried to step around him his sword would get her. </p><p> </p><p>Tad raised his sword, forcing her to do that same until they were nose to nose. </p><p> </p><p>“And step one, two,” Tad chuckled, stepping forward. He forced her back, then stepped sideways, leading her in a waltz. </p><p> </p><p>“Stop mocking me!” Mabel growled, pushing in her steel to shove him back. All she managed to do was accomplish the next step in the waltz. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not, I’m reminding you how a dance works,” he laughed, side stepping again to mock the turn in a waltz. “Step one, two. Step one, two. Good, when I make a move, you move as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“But if I only follow, I’ll never beat you!” Mabel whined and Tad smiled softly at the pout she exhibited. </p><p> </p><p>“Unlike a real waltz there is no defined leader, take the control. Be graceful and tact, then you will control the rhythm.” </p><p> </p><p>Mabel bit her lip, letting herself be led for a few steps, muscle memory taking over. As the dance got closer to what would be the moment the man spun her out, an idea came to Mabel. </p><p> </p><p>Stepping back in the momentum of the dance, letting her sword slide against his, she rotated like one would when being prepared to spin. His sword was shoved away and up, and her moment was here. </p><p> </p><p>Stepping back in close to him. Mabel struck, aiming for his neck. </p><p> </p><p>Tad’s eyes widened and ducked just in time to miss the blow, sweeping her legs out from under her. He jumped up and laid his sword on her neck, making sure not to hurt her. </p><p> </p><p>“I believe it’s my win.” Tad smiled, putting his sword away and putting out a hand to help her up. “But that last attack was an improvement.”</p><p> </p><p>Mabel glared up at him, unable to stop the way her heart began to hammer away in his chest. The way Tad smiled was just so charming. Fighting back a blush, Mabel took his hand and let him help her up. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t patronise me, I still lost.” Mabel handed him the rapier when he opened his hand for it. </p><p> </p><p>Wendy ran over and pulled Mabel into a hug. “Yeah but he’s a lot better than even me, the fact that you surprised him is enough in my book!” Wendy hugged her tight with a huge smile. </p><p> </p><p>“She’s right, Mabel, you battled brilliantly. With a little more training you might actually hit me,” Tad said as he hesitantly let go of her hand. </p><p> </p><p>Mabel pulled a sour face at him. She didn’t like being behind in something. She never had. “Well, I guess this means I have to start being more open...” She honestly didn’t know where to start. She was still mad at Tad, but it was starting to become difficult to hold onto that anger. </p><p> </p><p>Bill stepped forward and grinned at the girl. “Then how about we find you a job? Nothing says pirate life more than working with your crew and contributing to the ship.” </p><p> </p><p>Mabel did not like him at all. However that was mostly because she’d always been protective of her little brother. </p><p> </p><p>“Fine then, what may I try first?” </p><p> </p><hr/><p>
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</p><p>Dipper was panting by the time midday rolled around. Soos’ apparently didn’t believe in fake knives so he was also covered in small cuts. Inside his head was a point by point research paper on everything Soos’ had taught him so far. </p><p> </p><p>Because his weapon was so small he had to create space, while also not giving any up to his opponents. Soos’ told him that it was likely most adversaries he faced would have a pistol or a sword. This makes it very important that he remained low and quick, making his moves fast, while also being decisive with his attacks. Every single one needed to be treated as a finishing blow. </p><p> </p><p>“Yer doing good, little Fella!” Soos’ smiled at him. Dipper flushed with pride beginning to swell in his chest, excited to feel not useless for once! He’d been worried this would turn out like everything he had tried on Bill’s ship, with total failure, but he found the bashing and slashing of knife fighting right up his alley! </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper?” Ford called for him, having been watching the training for a while. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper gulped, still feeling off balance with his uncle. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes?” </p><p> </p><p>“Stan and I would like a word with you.” Ford looked nervous and a little resigned. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper fidgeted where he stood but nodded his head. Ford motioned for him to head towards the captain's cabin, following behind Dipper as he automatically began to move. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper wasn’t sure where he stood with his uncles. They told him how strong they’d thought he’d been through all of this, while at the same time barring him from helping in any meaningful way. It was just like when his father had kept him locked away, complimenting his intelligence while keeping him in a padded cell. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper hated being protected this way, it made him feel like a damsel in distress. He might as well just swoon in the center of the deck and make grand claims about needing a hero. </p><p> </p><p>Dipper walked in to find Stan pacing, a look of doubt on his face. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s going on?” Dipper asked as Ford shut the door behind them. </p><p> </p><p>“Dipper.” Ford motioned for him to sit. “There are some things we need to tell you,” he sighed, taking a seat himself. </p><p> </p><p>Stan avoided eye contact, while Ford was fiddling with his sixth finger. </p><p> </p><p>“About what? Is Mabel going to be okay?” Dipper asked with fear churning in his gut. He didn’t know what they were going on about and it made him uneasy. </p><p> </p><p>“Maybe? It’s about the crew of The Rift,” Ford explained. “Remember the research I showed you of my findings in the abnormal?”</p><p> </p><p>Dipper nodded hesitantly. His uncle's research had been impeccable and wildly interesting. He’d proven that everything had an explanation. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, that wasn’t all of it,” Stan snapped, grinding his teeth. “He only showed you a small part of that research.”</p><p> </p><p>Ford bit his lip and agreed with a pained look. “Dipper, it’s time you knew what else is out on these seas.” </p><p> </p>
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